Unexpectedly, My Otherworldly Fantasy Adventure Goes Right
by Taine
Summary: After the end of his second year, Hikigaya Hachiman wakes up in his pajamas on a field. He is not alone. In a world filled with knights, magic, and Undead, Hachiman has only one option: get the hell out of there. (Also posted on Spacebattles.)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU or Fire Emblem. I merely play with them. This is not a work made for profit and if you paid for this A) I am flattered, but B) You got scammed.**

**Predictably, Hikigaya Hachiman Refuses.**

Discomfort was a peculiar sensation.

It was not a strong feeling like pain, where actual damage was done, but it wasn't a total lack of distress either.

It was the way your body told you that something was wrong with your organism and that it needed attention, but not in an urgent manner.

Following this sense was, in more cases than one, advisable, and the most sensible course of action to take. Therefore, I followed my bodies advice and I, Hikigaya Hachiman, woke up.

Then I stopped.

The discomfort was still there, of course. The only thing I did was open my eyes and stare at the ceiling.

However, I didn't take any further step to relieve the discomfort.

Not because I was the sort of deviant that would lead my parents to hang their heads in shame, but because of the ceiling. Or better, the lack of it.

I was staring at the sky now; it was blue and limpid, with a gentle breeze and only some clouds partially covering the sun, preventing the celestial body from blinding me with his light.

However, the problem was, I shouldn't be seeing this. I shouldn't even feel discomfort, now that I think about it.

Right now, I should be in my bed. A very comfy bed, if I might add! I should be peacefully sleeping my stress and fatigue away!

Not being… wherever I am now.

How did I even get here? An abduction? A prank? If it is the latter, it's a pretty serious prank, you know?

Whoever did this should know that kidnapping a teenager from his comfy bed and then abandoning him in the middle of nowhere is a legally pursuable action, you know?

That is, if they didn't have my parents consent. But that was impossible. Overworked corporate slaves they might be, but I know they loved their children.

Well, they for sure love Komachi, but I'm pretty sure that they love me too, at least enough to not abandon me. That's a certainty.

I decide to get over it and find out where the hell I was: raising to my feet, I analyzed my surroundings. And then I realized, with a bit of panic, that my early thought was literal: I was, incredibly, in the middle of nowhere.

Frantically searching my surroundings, I could describe the place as a large hill, large enough to be called a field. A hill with only trees and, to my relief, I could see an old road that went into a forest at the base of the hill.

So here I was, in the middle of nowhere, with no civilization in sight.

My eyes locked on the figure three meters at my right.

At least, I wasn't alone. The thought was strangely comforting. Seeing the prone form of another human being when you find yourself in an unexpected and scary situation was comforting.

Who knew?

On one hand, this setting was suspicious: waking up with only another person, a woman, on top of a hill is a very suspicious setup.

If this isn't a trap of some kind, I didn't know what it could be.

Well, it could be the start of a very shitty light novel. I've read my fair share of horrible 'wake up in another world' setting, with crappy explanations and crappiest execution.

On the other hand, even if this is a set-up, the woman should know where we were.

Clearly, we weren't in Chiba anymore.

Therefore, I did the only sensible course of action that a kidnapped victim would do: I approached an unconscious woman to ask for clarifications.

…

Damn, that sounded like a horrible course of action. No matter though.

Now that I was close to the woman, I could better discern her features.

She was, oddly enough, an albino. And not some fake one like a certain chubby wannabe writer.

She was the real deal, with her hair set up in twin tails and delicate features that rather remind me of Yukinoshita.

The rest of his body was certainly different for the Ice Queen I knew.

First of all, she was more… developed than her. But more importantly, she wore something that Yukinoshita would never be caught wear if not on her dead body: a large coat ornate with purple signs and what seemed like golden laces. Under that, there was some tunic.

Overall, she looked like a very dedicated cosplayer. Or another chuuni, even if a beautiful one.

Like every girl I have met in the last year.

Is this a sign of the Gods of the RomCom? Is she my designated one that will help me to overcome this trial in this strange place, falling in love with each other and having a happy ending?

Yeah, I should just wake her up.

"Oi!" I called.

The girl shifted slightly and moaned in annoyance, but didn't open her eyes.

A fellow heavy sleeper uh? Shame, companion, I'm sorry to interrupt your wonderful rest.

As a fellow nap lover, I feel pity and regret, because the technique that I'm going to use on you is a fearsome one.

You should feel honored tough. It's a technique passed down from mother to daughter in the Hikigaya family, a move that I endure every morning from my adorable little sister.

A technique polished by me to maximize the wake-up effect and reduce at minimum the level of discomfort and annoyance!

"Oi, wake up!" I repeated, using the legendary Hikigaya Secret Move of gently, but firmly shaking her body.

Indeed, what you feel it's not a simple shake! It's a shake that rattles your bones but doesn't rudely interrupt you from your sweet dreams, permitting a sure but peaceful awakening!

And, right on cue, the family technique seems to do the trick.

Very slowly, the girl opened her eyes. When she noticed me looming over her, she seemed confused. Strangely, she didn't seem to question my presence.

"You shouldn't sleep on the ground. There are better places where take a nap. Like a bed." Or, more specifically, my bed.

No wait that came out wrong!

…

God, I wish I was in my bed now. It's a very comfortable bed.

Confused, the girl just nodded at my declaration and then started to search for something in her immediate surroundings. Probably some of her possessions.

"I-I…see…" she eventually answered, her voice hoarse.

The silence that followed was… awkward, even for a seasoned loner like me.

I cringed internally and, slowly, I extended my hand to her.

Hesitantly, the strange girl took it and I helped her stand up.

"Uff" I grunted, almost falling on her for the surprisingly excessive weight of her relatively smaller body.

Shamefully, I was that out of shape.

I would have guessed that helping out a certain foxy junior so much would whip me in an approximation of a good shape.

Father, I apologize for this poor excuse of a son that isn't even capable of basic courtesy towards a woman.

"T-thank you…" she said, interrupting my depressing monologue and returned my attention to the girl in front of me.

I nodded, simply accepting her thanks like every polite young Japanese man.

Now, time to question the girl.

"Do you know where are we?"

The girl blinked, maybe surprised by the sudden inquiry, but nonetheless, she looked around to try to orientate herself, searching for some landmarks.

Unfortunately, even before I could get an answer, the crestfallen and irritate frown on her face was an answer enough.

Did she get bumped here too?

"You too uh…" I murmured, disappointed of the predictable outcome.

She looked at me, wide and teary eyes pleading at me to show her some answer. She was really cute. Unfortunately, not even Totsuka level of cuteness could help me in this situation.

"You have some idea? Uuh…"

"Hikigaya Hachiman." I absently presented myself.

I searched my surroundings again, trying to piece some sort of information and/or course of action: "The only thing I can think of is to follow the road. A road will bring us to civilization." I finally said, looking back at her, feeling the disappointed frown on my face.

Not that it was that different from my standard expression, with my eyes rich of omega-3.

The strange girl tilted her head in affirmation, and immediately, we started our walk across the forest.

"So… Hikigaya… it's an… unusual name. I'm…" she said, hesitant to complete the sentence. I could relate to her reluctance.

Giving her name to the creepy boy who found you on the top of a hill isn't exactly the first thing that I would recommend my sister to do. Or any girl to do.

Not that my sister would even consider to do it in the first place. Komachi was a smart girl, the proud second in command of the Hikigaya Household.

We raised her to be better than this.

"…R-Robin…?" she concluded in the end.

Blinking at the last words, I let my mind race. A western name? It's a fake one? That's… improbable. She didn't have Japanese features, and she is a natural albino.

But again, only because she gave me a western name, didn't mean it's hers.

"First name Hachiman, the family name is Hikigaya, in case you didn't know Japanese costume." I explained.

She seemed to accept my explanation gracefully, and settled to ask: "Hachiman, are we in this… Japane?"

What kind of question was that?

I gave her a glance, arching my eyebrows. Is this girl stupid or something?

She talks like she didn't even hear the name of the country she lives in!

After all, it was impossible that we got shipped out of the country. If this was a prank, it would be too much.

Besides, I'm pretty sure that the airport control would have stopped whoever would have dragged my unconscious body there. Same things for ships, if they were even an option. I refuse to believe that I was out for more than some hours.

And what the hell is the first name basis, woman?

"Expatriate two unconscious body would be impossible without alert the customhouse, and incredibly costly. And I don't know anyone that rich that would do this to me."

I made sure of that. Yukinoshita notwithstanding.

But she wouldn't go that far. That girl simply does not have a sense of humor.

"And, you are talking Japanese, you know?" I added, letting an ounce of sarcasm filter.

The odd albino didn't seem to catch the sarcasm thought, or maybe she is more capable of hiding her emotion that she let on, but she just nodded, accepting the answer at face value.

Having concluded the interrogation, the two of us fell in silence, deciding to limit ourselves to follow the stone path, with only the sound of Mother Nature keeping us company.

I never was a talkative person, especially with strangers and girls, so the silence wasn't uncomfortable or aggravating for me, and while I couldn't talk for my improvised companion, now she seemed busy mulling over her situation.

Time passed, and while I greatly appreciated the extended period of silence like every other loner, my current predicament made relaxing difficult.

So I decided to follow my companion lead and think over the situation at hand. Or, more specifically, what I have to overcome this situation.

A cell phone…. A cell phone! Why didn't I think of that sooner!?

What am I, a retarded character from a lazy light novel?

I hurriedly checked my pockets, but I soon realized one important thing that I overlooked in the event.

My clothing. Because I wasn't wearing any casual clothes right now. Nor was I wearing my school uniform like any shitty light novel protagonist out there.

No, I was in my pajamas. Which make sense, since the last thing I remember was falling asleep.

And since I'm not a weirdo, I don't go to sleep in my school uniform.

So the pranksters and soon to be jailbirds just plop me here, without having the decency of changing me in a more optimal wardrobe.

On second thought, maybe it's better they didn't touch me. Didn't want some of the weirdos to strip me naked.

I would lose my innocence!

I couldn't get married anymore!

At least, they had the foresight to wear me one of my pair of shoes.

I hate the ass a little bit less for this.

In the end, I was in pajamas (and now I get Robin's hesitance. Why follow a weirdo in pajamas?), and I got nothing on me that could be useful.

I growled in irritation, catching the attention of the fellow traveler, but at her curious look, I just shook my head in negation.

No use in telling her this.

And so, time passed. It could be minutes, or it could be hours, but in the end, Robin broke our silence and spoke up again:

"Hachiman? Where are you from?"

I squirmed in discomfort at her way of addressing me. Definitely western. Damn them and their costumes. Why call everyone with our first name right when we just introduced each other?

Do your race have anything that resembles the concept of personal space?

Externally, I simply took a moment to collect my nuisance and answered "Chiba."

Then, thanks to years of parental training and cultural brainwashing, my mouth replied with all the politeness that the situation could allow me: "You?"

Robin took some time to answer my improvise question. She seemed hesitant.

Was she really that reluctant to talk with me? Lady, you shouldn't have bothered if this was difficult for you.

"I-I…I don't know…" she finally answered.

What? "What?" I snapped in stupor, stopping abruptly my walk to turn around and face her. She stopped too and fidgeted, looking at me with big, panicked eyes, and explained:

"I don't remember, Hachiman! I… I don't…" she screamed, hysteria slowly starting to take over on her.

She sobbed. Oh God, was she crying? Why was she crying? I'm not good with crying girls!

In a panic, I tried to do something, everything to make her just stop, because God, this was so not the time for me to suddenly train my empathy and social competence!

"H-hey j-just calm down ok? Robin, take a breath and tell me what is wrong and I will help you, ok? I promise!" I hurriedly said, grasping her shoulders and lightly shaking her to catch her attention.

Thankfully, the short and awkward speech seemed to have the effect I wanted, and the albino took few breaths, stopping crying.

I released a brief breath of relief, and, slowly, I let her shoulders go.

Robin looked to me, still a bit wavered, but now without tears, and she murmurs an explanation.

"I… can't remember anything Hachiman. My name just came out after a bit of thinking, but everything else… I… Hachiman the first thing I remember is waking up with you!"

She started to panic again, but a hand on her shoulder seems to do the trick, again.

What the hell was this development!? An amnesia? Seriously? Could we get more in some overdone book cliché?

It's this one of your works Zaimokuza, you delusional bastard?

Was she trying to fool me? Why though? Why now and not before? Who should put her on this overcomplicated joke? What was happening?

But before I could even began to express my fear, I heard a periodic and constant sound. Like footsteps, but more loud and frequent.

"Do you hear that?" I asked, suddenly a bit hopeful.

Footsteps meant people! And people means someone that end this cruel joke!

The girl took a moment to compose herself and hear the sound.

"Clopping… a horse." She answered briefly, an expression of absolute concentration replacing the previous panic.

Oi Robin, what is this sudden shift in mood? Are you a professional actress? A hardened warrior that can change emotion when sense battle approach? Just pick one personality and stick with it dammit!

But I had no time to comment on this sudden development because, right on cue, on the road appeared a group. And my hopes died with their appearance.

The group had to be made of cosplayers. Because who else would go around in the woods on a horse and wearing something like that?

Two men and a woman… or maybe a girl, because the girl looked like she was Komachi's of the men, what it looked was the oldest of the group, was on a horse. He seemed in the middle of his twenties.

However, the kicker was his clothes: he was cladded of armour from neck to toe, letting me saw only his face, scolded in a stern and severe expression.

Yes, the man seemed cosplaying as a generic knight from an inaccurate generic fantasy manga or novel.

The other man… oh God, it was cosplaying as a damn prince from said light novel or manga: the only piece of armour that he wore was a… back armour? Shoulder armour? I didn't know, but he seemed that he was wearing only that piece of metal at his left shoulder, letting his entire right arm completely exposed and naked.

If he was a knight, why wearing so little protection? Are you an idiot? Wait, I can see your dumb smile from here, so yeah, I bet you are cosplaying as an idiot!

Clearly, he was in the part of the protagonist of whatever show they were posing as, like the unrealistic but strangely appropriate blue hairs of the guy was suggesting.

The girl, in comparison of the two, was… relatively normal. I never bragged to be an expert of history, more so of western history, no matter how much my Dark Times would suggest otherwise, but I could guess that the blonde girl was wearing a Renaissance form of clothing, with yellow and white as the basic colour scheme.

To complete the fantasy setting of the group, the girl couldn't have any other accessories of a fancy staff with a particular glass orb on the top of it.

Of course, the girl couldn't be other than a healer.

Overall, they were clothed as general video game character, common enough that you could place the setting of the story at a glance but distinguished enough to stick in the memory.

Clearly, whoever designed those characters is on a whole other level in contrast to the pathetic piece of trash that Zaimokuza has the ball to subjugate my club mates and me weekly.

Noticing us, the girl perked up and started indicating excitedly.

"Look, Chrom! People!" she practically screamed in excitement.

Damn it! They were one of those types of cosplayers!

The blue haired man, maybe just a year older than me, noticed us and smiled back at the girl: "That they are, Lissa. How lucky of us."

He then put on his disgustingly charming smile and waved amicably at the two of us. I bet that you trashed hours upon hours to practice that smile, didn't you, prince?

"Hello there, travellers!"

I barely stopped a scowl at his easy-going attitude.

The man on the horse glanced at us, adopted a wary expression, and then looked at his two companions.

"My lord, Milady, I recommend caution with these strangers. While they seem innocuous, this could be the set of an ambush."

I snarled at the comment. He didn't even bother to lower his voice. Yeah yeah, we get it, you are his loyal servant. Don't bother with this.

The man, 'Chrom', raised his eyebrows, clearly disappointed, but he gave a smile to his faithful companion nonetheless.

"Peace, Frederick. They seem innocuous civilians, odd choice of clothing aside."

I grimaced. Like you are one to talk, going through a forest with ridiculous clothing of an imaginary character.

So, I'm in pajamas and the girl has a strange coat, but we were abducted! What's your excuse?

Oh, you are doing it just for the fun of it? Who are you trying to fool, you're just trying to elevate yourself as an overpowered character to feel better of yourself and your boring life!

Unlike you, I've already overcome that dark phase of my life, and my parents have instilled the right shame that I should have of that period in me!

When will you stop dreaming, and start working as a productive member of society?

Robin gasped and gulped, evidently surprised of the improvise company, interrupting my ranting.

Now that we were close to the group, I was expecting that she was going to explain the situation. Seeing her just looking at the group, open her lips to talk and then snapping it close like a goldfish, I decided to take the initiative.

"We're lost. Someone abducted the two of us, making us unconscious and dropped us on a field one hour from there." I explained.

Yeah. Short, concise and without possibility of misunderstanding.

Oh, you say I should greet them and introduce ourselves? Cut the crap, we have no time for those cosplayers! I just want to go home!

The girl, 'Lissa', gasped in horror at the brief tale, but I continued to share, hoping to receive a straight answer.

"We're trying to return home. So could you please direct us to Chiba?"

Just when I finished speaking the last word, the younger girl sprinted in front of us, worry written all over her face, and she started fretting.

"Oh Naga! Are you all right? Any of you are injured?"

While Robin simply shook her head, assuring her that no, we were uninjured and they simply took everything from us, 'Chrom' grimaced, clearly unhappy with the grim news.

"I'm sorry to hear that friends…" I'm sorry, what have you called me now? "But unfortunately, I personally don't know of a village named Chiba." He explained, putting on a sorrowful expression.

Well, that's irritating. Even after our serious tale, they are going to continue staying in character. Have they exchanged us for fellow cosplayers? While I could understand taking Robin for one of them, is really my pajamas that strange? Are they idiots? Why should we enact a cosplay scene here in the middle of the woods?

Ok, fine. I'll play along. At least you are trying to be helpful.

But only because I have no time for this charade! And because you are good at this. Impressive really.

Not that I'll ever tell you.

So, biting back a furious growl, I took a deep breath and… just tried to follow their lead.

"I see. Thank you for your assistance, Prince Chrom. Could you possibly tell me and my companion Robin where this path will conduce me and my companion?" I asked slowly and steadily, hesitant to use such a form to talk with those insufferable weirdos.

A satisfied and happy smile crossed the face of the 'prince', clearly relieved

Oi, don't look so happy and dashing just because I decided to play along with your little theatre. How selfish can you be, forcing two victims of kidnapping to satisfy your disgusting fantasy?

Alas, the blue-haired man actually answered us with some… news:

"You're lucky, friends. Following this road will lead you straight to the capital, Ylisstol. On feet, you'll need only another four hours of walking to reach the destination, but I heartily advise you to stop and rest for the night. You'll be there in the morning."

I grimaced and resisted the urge to sigh at the news. Another four hours of travel, with no car and only our feet? Why me?

And why did you even change the name of your city dammit?

Using the original name would be fine too! Names are just a part of the immersion, the importance lays in the context!

That's when the girl, 'Lissa' interrupted my internal rant. Why was everyone doing this to me today?

"Oh, hey mister! How do you know that Chrom is a prince but not that I'm the princess?"

Because of course the two of you are related. Why not?

Actually, I can see some resemblance in their features.

No, wait, back on track.

"Indeed, Milady is right. I too am curious on how two lost travellers would know such important information."

I rolled my eyes at the improvise input of the knight.

Really? Now, are we doing that type of scene? Even after I told you what happened to us?

That is… not normal.

No matter how dedicated a person could be to his cosplay, you are bound to slip out of your role.

Because it is just that. A role. An act. A mask to protect yourself. After our story, they should have at least flinched, slipped and start talking normally.

They shouldn't assume that they were fellow cosplayers. I was in pajamas!

This kind of dedication could mean only one thing…

Damn, they're delusional! Shit, ok, calm down Hachiman. Take a deep breath and answer to the crazy man with the fake spear that would probably not hesitate to stab you if you displease him.

I said calm down, damn it!

"Because, Sir Frederick, I have a semblance of a brain."

I flinched, hearing my words, harsher and more insulting than I intended them to be, but I quickly rushed my explanation, hoping that my not-so-hidden insult went unnoticed.

"First off, let's talk about his… armour. It's… lack of defensive equipment shows me that this man is the type of fighter that prefers quick and powerful blow, using for the most part hit and run tactics. While this doesn't prove anything, the lack of protection also shows me that he is strong enough to apply this reckless fighting style, but most of all, it shows in his clothing.

Those are the major tellers because of the design and the material are of really high quality, putting his rank at least at the level of major nobility."

I explained. In reality, a lot of what I said was really talking off my ass, whit shards of knowledge coming from my experience with light novels. Generally, every competent author reflects the characteristic of their major character in their clothing.

Basics, really.

For some reason, the group was aghast of my explanation. Shit, have they found out? No matter, let's continue.

"The second reason is yourselves and the young girl here. Excluding the obvious title and respect that you put on your Lord, both your clothes and armours have similar individualities, even if to a lesser degree, showing me that he pays and personalizes not only his equipment, but even others. This can only put him in a state of high nobility, at minimum."

'Frederick' looked like someone had just punched him in the stomach, while 'Chrom' and 'Lissa' were somewhere between scared and respectful.

I should give them that, their acting skilsl are top-notch. If I didn't know better, I would believe that they were surprised from this. That or, as dreaded, they really were delusional.

'Frederick' was quick to recover from his stupor and continue his act as the wary guard.

"But everything you said didn't point out at him being a Prince."

My breath stopped, and I had the distinct impression that I was going pale. Hoping to hide it, I sighed, shaking my head.

Just make yourself appear secure Hachiman.

"Of course. Because the last clue I got was from the mark." I concluded indicating his right arm.

"That is clearly a birthmark. It's too clean to be a self-inflicted scar and I don't see any kind of mark that indicates a tattoo. While the significance of the symbol is lost to me, it is a well-defined sign, so it's impossible to be some sort of random stain."

I concluded, giving the 'knight' my best smile at the end of the speech.

"It is all clear, Sir Frederick." I asked, hoping to not sound too smug.

Again, I wasn't sure if they were crazy or not, but it's better to play safe for now.

'Sir Frederick' ground his teeth at the hidden insult, but aside from that, he didn't show any other reaction, remaining the complete image of composure, limiting himself to simply nodding.

Good acting, I'll give you a 7/10. Normally, at this point, I should have a lance at my throat. But I appreciated your composure on the matter.

I looked at Robin, that until now didn't bother to talk, only to find her looking at my with a mix of surprise, admiration and… kinship? Really, her look made me feel uncomfortable.

The boss of this little theatre was still a little surprised, but he quickly recovered his wits.

Happy, he looked at me, then at Robin, giving us a charismatic smile.

10/10 for the smile, 'prince', even better than that sociopath's smile.

But you're posing as a damn raiju, and you are probably a psycho so you got a 6/10 for effort.

"You see Frederck, not every person we meet are out to kill us. There is a perfectly logical and admittedly impressive explanation, that doesn't fall in an attempt on our lives or a possible spy. I am really surprised that you gathered even my fighting style only from my clothing."

The knight nodded but decided to not answer to his companion. Zeroing his eyes on me, he shot a quick and suspicious glare but didn't bother to do anything else.

Internally, I sighed in relief.

We were clear.

That's when the young cleric decided to speak again, trying to justify the behavior of the knight:

"Don't worry guys, just ignore him for now. Frederick the Wary is just slow to open up to others. Very slow. But wow, that was impressive!" she said merrily, a bit of awe still filtering in her tone, like the youthful healer that she pose as.

Or she thinks she was.

"Yes, please, excuse our friend. He is doing his job, even if often he tends to go… overboard."

Shees, guys I get it. There is no need to justify the character he is impersonating.

I would have found you irritating even if you wouldn't have done that. Nothing personal.

I simply nodded at the two, while Robin, finally remembering that yes, she had a voice, hastily said: "O-of course Your Highness! We're sorry for the disrespect, we understand that such wariness is necessary for your protection. Right Hachiman?"

I just nodded.

'Chrom' laughed, and shook his head in negation at her declaration. "Do not worry with formalities, Lady Robin. Calling me Chrom is fine."

Robin blushed. I blinked in confusion at her reaction.

"O-only, if you call me Robin, Chrom."

I scowled. Were they… were they just flirting? It couldn't be, right? She couldn't… now. Back on track, now!

"Anyway, prince Chrom…"

"Please, just Chrom Mr. Hachiman."

You don't get to call me on first name, bastard. You're not a cute girl. Or Totsuka.

"…Chrom. Thank you for the indications, but I believe it is time to part away. We would not stop you from your duty. Unless my companion does not desire to join in your errands."

I droned in monotony, trying to stop the annoyance from slipping in my voice.

Frankly, I feared that I was getting too much the hang of this manner of speech. I should have forgotten all about this chuuni bullshit, so why am I so good at this?

Hearing me, Robin frowned. She quickly shot a glance at me, and, to my brief surprise, she seemed scared by the suggestion.

What's the problem? I thought you liked him or something, right?

"Hachiman! Why would I do that?"

I briefly blinked, surprised by the heat behind the comment.

"You seemed to enjoy their company." I honestly answered.

Besides, I thought they were your friends? I mean, with her clothes being so similar in style… Maybe she is from the same convention? But if that's true, how did she find herself on the field without memory?

Too much alcohol? Was she drugged and mugged?

I grimaced in disgust at the last thought. If that was the case, I prefer don't know or think about it.

"No, no! I… would rather prefer to come with you." She answered. I nodded my acceptance. Her choice, really. I was to walk away, but then the voice of the 'Prince' interrupted me.

"Wait! Before you go, may I ask you if you have spare money on you?"

The comment hit me like a rejection from the girl you have a crush on.

He was right! How could I not think about it? No normal clothes mean no wallet, no wallet equals no money, and no money equals no means to survive in the city!

I turned to look at Robin, who by now was finishing browsing inside her cloak, probably searching for some yen.

As much as I despised being in debt with someone else, especially if that someone is a person I met no more than hours ago, this was an emergency.

When she looked back at him, she shook her head.

Damn it. Of course. She was mugged.

Noticing our interaction, Chrom smiled at us: "That wouldn't do, my friends. Despite I myself have not much money, I think I could help you nonetheless."

He then turned to the knight in full armour, and asked:

"Frederick, could you please give me ink and paper?"

"Of course, Milord." He nodded readily, and, with a practiced motion, he reached for the purse hanging from the side of the horse.

With ease, he took from the bag paper and… a bottle of ink and a feather?

No way! He wouldn't do that, right? He wouldn't actually start writing a letter, with ink and feathers nonetheless! There is dedicated, and there is stupidly absurd!

I was immediately proven wrong, as the man actually started writing with this dated method!

That was, without doubt, pretty impressive.

It was also the last straw that convinced me that they were at least a bit crazy, if not psycho, people that would literally, stab us at a wrong word.

"Hey Chrom, what' cha doing?" the girl asked, leaning towards her...friend? Brother?

She peaked in the letter.

"A letter to Emm, Lissa. I know she will help them start anew once arrived in Ylisstol." He explained.

Frederick immediately scowled: "If I may, Milord, I strongly suggest against this course of action. Sending two strangers without affable background to Lady Emmeryn…"

The prince sighed, interrupting the knight, and finished the short letter. Turning towards us, she gave the letter to Robin. She quickly checked the insides and nodded at me.

I don't know what that gesture was about, but I nodded back, just in case.

Meanwhile, 'Chrom' was explaining to his friend his reasons. "Frederick, I understand your concern, but look at them. They're harmless. Mr. Hachiman doesn't look much like a fighter, and while Robin could be potentially dangerous, she is just one person. Do you really think that they could bypass all the guards that you personally train and Phila?" he said, giving us an apologetic look.

I shrugged, and Robin smiled at him, trying to convey our total lack of care of his suspicions.

'Frederick' took a moment to reconsider his 'lord's' explanation. In the end, he nodded in understanding, sending us a glance. Strangely, this time was not suspicious or angry.

"I see. While I do not completely condone this course of action, I can see the wisdom of your choice, Milord. Yet, I have to advise to not send to the Exalt every incognito we meet. No matter how meek they seem."

Really 'Frederick'? Rubbing salt on my wound? I know I am not the most physically fit person around, but this is just mean and petty for a knight such as yourself.

'Chrom' nodded satisfied, and smiled at his friend: "Your suggestion is appreciated. I have no intention to make this a habit."

The knight nodded and smiled, pleased with the decision of his 'prince' and, turning again towards us, he said with a severe tone:

"Very well. I expect the two of you to be on your best behavior in the presence of Lady Emmeryn."

I nodded. I sure gave a lot of nods in this conversation uh?

But 'Lissa' quickly interjected: "Don't listen to him! She would be happy if you drop all the formalities when you are in private if she knows we sent you."

Again, I nodded, unsure of how I should answer to such a different opinion.

I glanced to Robin for a save, but she was busy putting the letter inside her coat, and wow, she had a lot of internal pockets!

She then said: "We'll do just that. Thank you, Chrom, Lissa, sir Frederck. We would be lost without you." she said honestly, bowing deeply.

I followed her example. Cosplay nuts or not, they were helping us, going as far as inviting us in their home. They were exceptionally good people, if a bit on the crazy side.

Except 'Fredrick'. He was an asshole.

Now, there was only one problem to think about: "How do we find her?" I neatly asked.

Robin's eyes went wide as plates, and she quickly smiled gratefully at me.

W-what is that smile? Stop smiling that gratefully, like some sort of lost puppy, woman! Start thinking for yourself!

The 'prince' nodded, crossing his arms in a contemplative manner.

"Of course, you are right Mr. Hachiman. But you will not need to search for her. You'll simply found her. She is very…distinctive." He answered, strangely happy. No… he was proud.

He was extremely proud of his big sister. Of course, I could sympathize with the sentiment. I was proud of my cute little sister too.

Unfortunately, that cheesy comment wasn't that helpful.

Oi, just spouting cool lines wouldn't work here! Life isn't a manga, so vague shit isn't going to help us! Speak clearly, do you hear me?

Maybe my disappointment showed, or maybe it was Robin's unsure expression that gave those idiots the hint to elaborate.

In the end, it was 'Lissa' that gave us something more to work with. "Oh! She has the same hair colour as me if that helps!" she proudly said.

Even if it wasn't anything helpful. But the cheery tone that used was making really difficult for me to just praise her and pat her head.

Damn her, she is good to roleplay the little sister type! And damn my little sister instincts!

I have fallen for that foxy junior, but I will not fall for this unknown girl! Never again! Komachi is the only one for me!

Ah, that should be a lot of Hachiman points!

Wait, Komachi, why do I feel like if you heard this, you would be sad and disappointed?

'Chrom' decided to add another helpful advice.

"She is very imposing and charismatic. If you just follow the crowd, you will surely find her."

Helpful being completely sarcastic. Gee, man, thanks for the help…

Of course, the stern character type became the most helpful in this situation.

"Lady Emmeryn walks every day through the town. You'll probably find her towards 12.00 in the central square, when she is getting back to the castle for her last duties before lunch."

I blinked. Robin blinked. 'Chrom' and 'Lissa' didn't bat an eye, continuing smiling happily like this man didn't just explain their sister routine like an obsessive stalker.

"Ooook? Thanks for the help, Sir Frederick." Robin eventually said, after a few seconds of awkward silence.

The creepy stalker just nodded serenely, and with peaceful a smile, he answered:

"You're welcome, Lady Robin, Mr. Hachiman."

Quickly trying to forget the scene in front of me, I decided to try to reassume all the information we had of this 'Emmeryn'.

Decrypting the chuuni talk was easy enough, thanks to the practice I had with Zaimokuza, and, surprisingly, we had a good deal of hints on how to recognize her.

So we had an older woman that had the same hair color of 'Lissa', that goes regularly shopping with her friends in the late morning and with a good reputation with the local population.

The last part could easily be false or an exaggeration, but maybe asking around wouldn't be a bad idea. Noticing that the conversation was over, Robin bowed again, thanking the group in front of us.

"Thank you again for your help, Chrom, Lissa, Sir Frederick. We're very grateful. Your help will not be forgotten."

Again, I followed her lead and bowed to them. Thanks and bowing were free to give, after all. It did help that I too, was grateful to the odd group.

Didn't mean that I would stay around this delusional psychos more than I needed. I like my body without additional holes, after all.

"I hope you have a safe and productive journey." she added.

'Chrom' smiled brightly in response: "It was our pleasure and duty as Shepherds. May Naga bless your journey."

Who the hell is Naga now? Why do you call yourself Shepherds? Do you really have so little respect for your 'subjects' to compare them to sheep?

Damn it, we were having a moment; you just ruined it with your chuuni bullshit!

"Goodbye!" Robin waved, happily starting her march. I followed her, giving my farewell with a curt nod.

It wasn't even ten steps after when I heard 'Lissa' starting to talk with her friends. About us.

"They're really going, uh? Shame. I would have liked their company during our walk."

"Me too, Lissa. They seem like an enjoyable company. But you heard them: they had their fair share of problems. We did what we must. Emm will do the rest."

Oi, we can still hear you! You should at least talk when we are out of sight, you know? What if we can hear you? Like right now.

"I agree with Lord Chrom, Lady Lissa. We did our duty as Shepherds, and that should be a reward in itself.

Besides, we will probably find them in the capital in a few days."

Not if I can help it.

"You're right! But, you know, Mr. Hachiman was eyeing me in a strange way, don't you think?"

I was not! Lies! Slander! Lissa, I trusted you the most, how could you say those things behind my back?

I could hear a soft chuckle, and turning towards the origin, I found Robin looking at me with a small smile.

You too Robin? There is nothing true in that last statement! Don't believe that liar! What is with women and my stares?

I sighed, resigned to be the verbal punching bag of every woman I met in my life.

And with that sad reminder, Robin and I continued our walk through the woods.

It was only when we couldn't hear the clopping of 'Frederick's' horse that Robin decided to start to talk to me again, much to my displeasure.

"We were lucky, right Hachiman?" she said with a somber tone.

I simply nodded, not bothering using my voice for this kind of question.

Robin seemed to gather my answer, and she continued to talk. "I'm very lucky to find such gentle people when… when I am in my condition."

I frowned. Yeah. Her 'condition'. I almost forgot that.

She claimed to be affected by amnesia. And, after all that talk, I was calm enough to think clearly about the statement, now that Robin wasn't crying on me.

Normally, I would simply say that it was a load of crap.

Only that I didn't believe that. She was… emotional. Too emotional to be faked.

And even if it was faked, why lie? I didn't know her.

She could feed me of whatever lies she wanted and I would accept them nonetheless if she didn't trust me with the truth.

So I could reassume that she wasn't lying, or that she was a really good actress to play me a fool. She could be with the same group before. They wore an outfit of a similar medieval-fantasy theme. Possible, but again, why? Trying to fool me with talented actors would cost an immense amount of money, and I don't know anyone with that much money to burn, except the Yukinoshita sisters.

And they would have no reason to do that. Maybe Haruno, but not on this grand scale.

So the only explanation possible was that she was telling the truth, she actually had a severe case of amnesia, probably following the convention she had attended.

She got drugged, and they probably have taken… advantage of her, robbing her of all the money.

"Hachiman…" she called again, interrupting my brainstorming of the situation. I simply looked back at her.

"Will… will you really help me?" she quietly asked.

There. There were sentences like that that made me doubt she was lying. I could tell that she was scared. Confused. Alone.

If she was lying, it was working like a charm.

I nodded again.

"Have you checked inside your coat? You could have some sort of hint about your identity."

Robin smiled; a relieved, bright smile that made me avert to look at her.

She quickly answered, while digging in her coat for something. "I already checked before we met Chrom and the others. I… don't have anything that told me where I came from, but I found a steel sword, a Thunder tome, a bottle of ink, a feather and, most importantly a notebook."

I grunted, signaling my attention. She probably comes from the same convention of the previous group. She is at least a dedicated cosplayer as them if the presence of ink is an indicator.

Judging from the lack of recognition, they probably never met at the convention, which was a shame, but not unexpected.

Those things are generally packed with people.

But it's strange that she didn't have an ID, they generally checked them for the entrance.

Maybe the thief stole it too. "What's in the notebook?" I asked.

The albino readily shoved her only valuable possession to me, while starting to explain the content.

Oi oi Robin, don't give your only hint to your previous life to an unknown like me, you foolish girl!

Unless all of this is faking and you are trying to fool me. In that case, screw you skank!

Opening the notebook, I started to read its content. It was, for the most part, military content of various genre: list and description of units, with rather detailed indications of strengths and weakness of each soldier. There was some name of particularly 'strong' or important units, following from their general personality, likes and dislikes.

Then there was the big part: pages upon pages of formation and tactics of all genre and flavor. From classic historical tactics, from decent ones to half-assed one until there were really stupid ones that should have really no right to work in real life if not for something stupid like plot armour.

"As you can see…" Robin was saying, her tone falling in a tone strangely serious and professional:

"…you are reading various schemes and hypothetical battle plans. Mixing with that there are some names of various exceptional soldiers and their description. It's a bit messy, but I recognize two factions in the notebook: Ylissian and Plegian, but I couldn't tell which part I sided with.."

I half listened to the girl, while I was skimming through the notebook. It was perplexing: the notebook wasn't printed, so it was logical and safe to assume that it was written by someone, probably her.

"So I assume that I was some kind of teacher, counselor or tactician." She concluded.

And I could believe in that conclusion… if it wasn't for some details: excluding the names, that were clearly fantasy themed, in the notebook were present son 'strange' unit, like mages, pegasus and wyvern riders, the likes.

Clearly, it was for the fantasy setting she was impersonating. Assuming she was a cosplayer, this was the ultimate proof of her dedication to the cause.

But even a very obsessed cosplayer wouldn't have this much with her. Not this well written, not this well fabricated. Otaku or not, people had lives outside of their obsession, and she didn't look like a shut-in.

Something was strange with this girl.

"Doubtful." I distractedly disagree with her hypothesis.

She looked at me, surprised but willing to listen to my opinion.

"Assuming that what is written in this notebook is true and not some sort of fantasy, the number you work with are too high. If it is, in this book you're working with the main army of a small nation."

She nodded with a look of extreme focus, and I took this as a sign to continue to explain my idea.

"Looking at you, you can't be older than twenty, stretching the number. Would you put a teenager at the head of the main army of the nation, when you have more competent and experienced general?"

And that is, if we assume that the faction are real. Which they aren't. I was no master in geography, but a name like Ylisse and Plegia are clearly names that a nation of the real world wouldn't use.

This notebook was purely for cosplay propose… so useless.

"…oh. So this is…"

"Your study book. If we take this as proof, I would think that you were some sort of student or apprentice." I concluded.

Robin started slowly to nod, and, once convinced, she nodded more vigorously.

Her abrupt movements made her twintails bounce, and I couldn't help but follow the imaginary line that they traced.

It was kind of hypnotizing, just like the bouncing Yuigahama's yuigaham…

No! Stop that train of thought! Think of something else! Something innocent and pure!

Yes, Totsuka! Obviously, Totsuka's smiles were the only thing that could help eradicate impure thoughts.

Looking back at Robin, I found her bestowing a sunny, grateful smile upon me.

"Yes, that makes sense! You're right Hachiman! Thank you!"

The praise felt hollow. It actually hurt me; made me feel ill. It was displaced gratitude.

I was just throwing a hypothesis based on a fictional notebook. So that wasn't her past, but a fictional and carefully created fantasy.

If she really lost her memory, as I'm inclined to believe, she deserves the truth.

And truth I will give.

"That is, if this notebook said the truth."

Obviously, her smile dropped faster than Zaimokuza's ass hit by the unforgiving and harsh criticism of a certain Ice Queen.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked after second of silence, fear clearly showing in her voice.

Grunting, I divert the gaze. If this was acting… kudos for her. I turned again to stare at her. No, she needs the truth.

"I… I never met a mage or a pegasus, Robin. All I heard about them are legends. Fictional stories" I explained, cutting my explanation to the point.

Robin's eyes widened: "But what about Lissa? She is clearly a cleric!... Right?"

I shook my head, and the devastated expression that she gave me made me internally cringe. Externally, I forced myself to continue:

"We don't know. She looked like one, I admit, but she never used her staff." Robin frantically took a step towards me. I stood firm. She needed to hear this.

"But what about me? I-I am a mage! I know! I can sort of remember how to do it!"

I grimaced. She was confused. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath: "Robin, magic doesn't exist." I said in a murmur, slow and concise.

She trembles: "NO!" she screamed.

She frantically searched something in her coat, and quickly took out a worn old book: "J-just look at me! I-I'll cast a Thunder spell right now and…"

This was painful to watch. I just can't…

"It doesn't matter if you can do it or not, Robin." I interrupted her if a bit aggressively.

Her mouth clenched. I could practically hear a [click].

I continued: "What does matter is that we have names inside the book. Names that we can contact once we are in the city."

Even if some of the names were obviously fake, some of them were probably bound to be real. In every group, there is a noob that didn't bother to create a character and play as himself.

Obviously, Robin was hesitant. After all, I just shut her hopes down, and pretty hard, if I say so myself.

But in the end, I was the only person that know of her situation and was willing to help her, so when she nodded her demure acceptance, it wasn't a surprise to me.

We even had a trace to follow.

That was enough for the both of us, for now.

"Let's go then." She whispered. I silently agreed.

With that, we just continued to follow the road, in complete silence.

* * *

My only wish for the next few hours of walking, wasn't to stop the awkward silence or trying to cheer up my companion.

I was more than capable to live with both, given my status as a loner.

No, my only wish for the next hours was to find one god damn car. Or, at least someone normal who we could ask for indications.

Instead, I was forced to walk for three hours straight, when the sun was setting and when the night already fell on us.

Now it was officially night and our only guiding light was the stars and the moon.

And I was exhausted!

Who knew that walking for extended periods of time on an old stone path could tire you out.

Rubbing off some of my sweat, I turned to glance at Robin, who was now watching ahead and ignoring me.

She seemed winded, but she was in a far better state than me. She probably was in better shape than me, but I honestly couldn't tell with her cloak covering her form.

Sorry father, it seems that your lazy son is in worse shape than an amnesiac chuuni girl is. May you find the strength to forgive your disappointment of a son.

Robin suddenly stopped, and I gladly followed her example.

"We should camp." She said.

I glanced at her with my best casual attitude.

"It's getting dark, we can barely see the road. However, we are in the borders of the forest, so we should be near the capital now." She explained.

I nodded, more than happy to have an excuse to stop walking.

But a thought made me frown. The so called capital. Obviously, 'Chrom' wasn't referring to Tokyo. It was impossible.

By now, and even when we woke up, we should be at least in some sort of border from the city, some highway, or at least have met any kind of civilization!

Instead, we didn't even get to see the metropolis itself in the distance, now that the trees were dispersed and the horizon clear.

"And we need to rest to complete the journey tomorrow" she added.

Ah, I mused. She noticed my state as a liability. I'm ashamed of myself.

"You're right. Thanks." I honestly said.

We stared at each other, unsure of what to do. I tried to not cringe at the impassive look that she was giving me.

After more embarrassing seconds of staring at each other, she suddenly asked: "Well, what are you waiting for?"

I blinked confused and heisted a bit. What? What do you want woman?

"I… don't know. What do you want me to do?"

She looked confused and surprised at my admission. She scrutinized me, trying to find a way to process my question.

"You… don't know what to do?" she slowly asked, like to confirm her suspicions. I nodded. Short, quick and without possibilities to embarrass me more.

The perfect way to answer any embarrassing questions.

I never was a man of the people, even when I was a kid, or during my dark ages. I always prefer to shy away and be with the… acquaintances… that I had at the time.

So, I never had the chance to go out and camping with the other kids.

In that sense, I lived a relatively sheltered life.

"I… see… just bring me some wood then. I'll go… hunting I guess." She said, nodding to herself.

I nodded along, satisfied with my simple task, before I quickly realized what she said. She was going to do what?

"A-are you sure about it? C-couldn't you just… I don't know, find some fruits or fungus?" I hastily asked.

Robin turned puzzled at me, stopping in her step.

"Why though? Animal meat should be more tasty, am I right…?"

I opened my mouth to start retorting, but I quickly snapped it close.

Surely, Robin was thinking to catch some small animals, like I don't know, squirrel or birds.

Or… not something big and dangerously stupid, like a wolf or, god forbid, a bear.

Yeah. Crazy cosplayer or not, she didn't show me suicidal tendencies, so she would be fine. I'm a bit ashamed to let her do the heavy lifting, but at least she seems confident to know what to do.

I nodded. Yeah, I should trust her.

"You're right. Be careful."

Robin smiled brightly in response.

Stop that woman! Only Totsuka or Komachi are allowed to smile at me like that. If I want to wake up in the morning, it would be with Totsuka's smile, or Komachi's cheery voice!

What are you trying to do, replace them? Totsuka is the only one for me!

Quick Hachiman, think about him, or your cheeky little sister!

Phew, I'm safe now.

Clearly, Totsuka's smile is the only pure and genuine thing that can save me from sins.

And, as I walk away satisfied with the effectiveness of my mental barrier, I had a terrifying thought:

How will I eat a raw animal?

Turns out, I didn't have to steel my stomach.

When I was back, Robin was already there with her arms full of raw, skinned meat. It was still disgusting, but not seeing the entire corpses and not knowing where it came from helped a lot.

When I asked what happened to the corpses, Robin said that it was too heavy to take all the body here, so he needed to cut the body in pieces and took them here in two trips.

I felt a bit ill at the explanation, but asked anyway how she skinned the meet.

She showed me an old pocketknife.

I just nodded, and refused to ask more questions, on the matter.

Now, the only matter to think about was how to cook the mentioned meat. And that meant we had to start a fire.

Luckily, for me, Robin seems very knowledgeable of camping, and she patiently explained me how to start a fire.

She admitted, sheepishly, that she had the sensation that normally, she would use a fire tome to start the bonfire, and that she probably was out of practice. Unfortunately, she added, now that she didn't have it to show me, so we had to do it the hard way.

Turns out, she didn't think she could control the thunder tome to simply light the fire.

I refuse to comment on that piece of information. It wasn't my place to put her fantasy down for good.

When the both of us will return to civilization, and after we found a way to contact her parents, it will be their job. That was the meaning of delegation, right?

See dad, I can be a corporate slaver, just like your boss!

And so, we start cooking the raw meat.

Even if cooking would be an exaggeration, in fact, we used some spare branches of wood to pierce the meat carefully maintain them over the fire to cook.

It was maybe fifteen minutes later, when the meat was almost cooked, that we heard clopping coming from the woods.

Robin snapped her attention to the road, slowly closing her piece of meat to her chest.

Was she… was she trying to protect her dinner with her body?

God, she was! She was glaring at the road, expecting that whoever got out will try to steal her dinner from her!

I almost snickered, but I forced myself to continue watching my meal roasting. I was hungry too, ok?

Eventually, we saw the source of the clopping.

Predictably, it was another knight. Worse, he wore a bright red armour, so eye catching to be painful.

Oh, and it seemed that he was a she. Cool. What's up with all those cosplayers today anyway?

Noticing us, the knight in reined the horse with a stereotypical "Ey-ooooh! Down girl."

Good accent, lady. Seems very southern.

"You there! Travellers!" she then greeted us, dismounting from her horse.

I glanced impassively at her, simply nodding my greetings and let Robin do the talk.

Unfortunately, she didn't seem to be in the mood to dialogue this time.

"…yes. Hello there…" she slowly replied, her bright eyes suspiciously scanning her, while keeping her dinner at a safe distance, close to her body.

The knight laughed loudly, noticing the hostility of my companion.

"Oh, not the talkative type kid? And hold your horses, missy. I'm not going to steal your dinner." She assured, walking carefully towards us. When Robin slightly relaxed, she sat beside us, staring at the campfire.

Oi, what the heck did you call me, red? What's with you idiots today and all the 'stay in character' at every hour of the day.

It's night, just stop it already! What is it? A bet? A challenge? A rotten brain?

"Name's Sully. I'm searching for Captain. Have you seen him? Blue hair, stupid smile, big mark on his arm?"

Noticing me completely ignoring the guest, Robin, now more at ease with her presence, took the task of talking with her.

Eh, good luck with this weirdo.

"Oh, you mean Chrom? We meet him three hours ago. He was together with Lissa and Sir Frederick. They were following the road." She explained, pointing the direction to the girl with one hand and with the other cooking the meat on the fire.

'Sully' smiled at the information, or so I thought, because what I saw was the dangerous grin of a predator that was tracking his prey.

Scary stuff. Man, those guys are awesome.

If we had even half of them in the live action industry, maybe they would produce something watchable!

Ah! Who am I kidding? There is no way that they will ever write something decent!

Oh, wait, she was still talking…

"Ah! Thanks girlie!" she laughed boisterously, giving Robin a heavy pack on her back.

Robin winced in pain.

I smirked; glad to have escaped this over the top treatment.

"Now, not to ruin your dinner, but I have to ask ya some questions. Routine, you know?" she said, showing us a more serious face.

I could almost take her seriously if it wasn't for that stupid bright red armour.

Sorry girl, your superb acting is destroyed by your ridiculous character.

May you have more fortune in your next role.

So I rolled my eyes when Robin give her a worried look and a hesitant nod, like she was taking her seriously.

Pleased by the cooperation, Sully ginned at her and asked:

"Good. So what's a Plegian and weirdo in pajamas doing in hostile territories?" she asked.

The tone was friendly, but something about her way of asking put me on the edge. Can't point what thought.

Maybe her body language?

I leveled her a glare, trying to convey to her all my irritation.

Who are you calling a weirdo, you delusional woman? I have a perfect and reasonable explanation for why I am in the woods in pajamas.

What's your excuse? Your fantasy?

During my mental rant, Robin completely ignored her (probably) insult, and tilted her head cutely:

"I guess you're talking to me with that Plegian comment. How do you know?"

The red headed girl looked slightly angry at her comment, and impatiently raised an eyebrow: "And here I thought… look, I don't know why are you even playing your stupid-ass game, if you have that Grimleal coat for all to see."

Her reply made Robin glanced at her coat in wonder and fascination, seemingly eying her possession with new eyes.

"I see… if you say it like that, it must be true. I didn't know it was of Plegian origin…" She blinked, and then, escaping her musing, turned again to the knight.

"So, you were saying we are in Ylissean territory, right?"

Rather put out from the sheer audacity of the statement, the red knight eyed my unfortunate companion like she was completely crazy.

"Riiight. Yes you are in Ylisse now. Right towards the capital too…"

At that point of the conversation, I found my meat satisfactorily cooked and started to eat.

It was, as expected, very disgusting. So horrible in fact, that I think I was throwing my breakfast right there and there.

No salt, spice or any chemical addiction.

Truly, I have to ask myself how humanity survived for millennia with this crappy food.

I resolved myself that, when I arrive at civilization again, I'm going to empty an entire stash of my sisters 'super secret' ice cream and, after that, I'm going to eat so much fast food to throw up for the next two days.

God bless trash food. Cheap, legal and delicious. Have I already said that it's cheap? The only way for food to be better is to be free!

"Anyway, Chrom sent us to Lady Emmeryn…" Robin was explaining when I turned out my brilliant monologue, and she was showing Red the letter written by the 'prince'.

Sully didn't even bother to take it. She just scowled.

"…because we were kidnapped and mugged, and he said Lady Emmeryn would help us…"

'Sully' nodded, looking at the letter with all the disgust she could muster to an inanimate object.

Sorrow filled her face, and she growled some really impolite word.

In the end she sighed, and said: "Yeah, that's sound like Capitan, alright. Always helping anyone, eve…" she stopped.

It didn't take a genius to figure out her displeasure with this arrangement.

Protective much?

"Sorry for the questioning, man. But, you know, duty and times, you know the story." She said, giving us an half-assed explanation.

We didn't, of course. One of us was an amnesiac, and the other know better than get caught up in stupid fantasy role playing.

So, really, we didn't know. You could be lording your 'authority' on us, for all we know.

But again, don't care.

"Well, thanks for the information. If I run with my girl, I should be able to catch them." She said, probably talking to herself.

With that, she got up and, with a flawless motion, she reached for her mount and jump on it.

"Well, thanks. Good meal and all that. Se ya!" she said, spurring her horse. And with that, the horse immediately started running, and she vanished, while Robin waved at her.

The albino was just trying to put her now cooked meal in her mouth and taste of the untreated meat, when a new voice stopped her:

"No please, milady, wait for me!"

I didn't even need to see the clearly male new arrival to know what kind of guy this other weirdo was impersonating.

Really, the speech pattern and the tone of his voice was enough.

Sighing exasperatedly, wondering when all those… quirky character would stop appearing, I watched as a man with long, silver-grey hairs, delicate features and a really realistic bow on his shoulder appeared running and huffing on the road.

I took another bite of the disgusting garbage that Robin called food.

This guy was a cheap rip-off of a certain genetically engineered and drugged swordsman with an impossible long sword that was clearly compensating for his lack of masculinity.

As expected, the guy's eyes immediately zeroed on the only lady in the zone, who was watching him curiously, meat still untouched.

And, as expected, the first thing the rip-off said to us (her) was compliment: "Ah, good evening, lovely lady…" he started, just while I swallowed the last bite of my dinner.

I wasn't surprised that he didn't notice me. I was forgettable, in particular, for guys like this.

The effeminate archetype took a deep breath, completely shattering the illusion of perfect gentleman carefully built in the last three second of the meeting.

Sheesh, he must be extremely tired.

"My name is Virion, archer of archers. I travel from nation to nation with an important mission of love. Have such a stunning lady like yourself met an equal mistress of…"

And of course, he was searching for Red. I quickly glanced to my companion, who was closely listening to the man's speech.

While she wasn't by any means insulted or irked by the interruption, I could easily tell that she was getting impatient to eat.

The look she gave at her dinner was telling.

So I interrupted him. The less time I spent with him, the better.

"Red's gone. Just lost her actually. Follow this path and you'll find her with her friends."

The man, 'Virion' quickly turned his head to me. He seemed surprised by my intervention, probably because he just noticed me.

"Oh, good evening, good sir! I kindly thank you for your timely information." He said, and, to my surprise, he actually bowed slightly to me too.

I admit, this guy was a master of social interaction. Not only his pompous method is strangely tolerable, but he didn't seem like the classic pervert too.

He showed absolutely politeness even to me, and he seemed genuinely mortified to not have noticed me. Maybe he was a so called Casanova?

"I am sure that fate will not forg…"

Didn't matter. He was still the annoying type.

I looked at Robin, who seemed thankful she could get a chance to eat her dinner. I was pretty sure she was now eating her second skewer of meat.

"Don't worry, it is easy enough. You should hurry though. Red's got a horse, and she was in a hurry. If you rest too much here, you'll lose her."

I curtly said. As an afterthought, I added: "Deep breaths."

The cheap rip-off of the one winged angel (eheh) smiled at me, and again, bowed politely and; dare I say; gratefully at me.

"Ah, a man of few words but strong actions. Thank you again for your assistance, good sir. I, Virion, will not forget your act of aid in my dark times."

I nodded, and took a moment to let the guy take a breath. He seemed widened. Besides, he will need all of his breath for the run he will do from here.

I am not a sadist after all.

"Cut from the woods, if you can. The road has more curves than trees. You should catch up." His smile widened. It was the kind of smile that I see every day in the face of a certain popular blonde, the kind that I hated the most: practiced, reflexive. False.

And yet, at the same time, I could feel the gratitude. The feeling.

It was curious. Was it because of the character that it felt false? Was it because he was actually glad to have a way to reach his friend?

I couldn't give a straight answer.

It was still disgusting, though.

"Again, Thank you, sir. I will not waste your precious aid. Goodbye and good luck, friend. And a good dinner to you too, my lady." He concluded.

Turning, he took a deep breath and started running, cutting through the woods.

I couldn't believe how even his running was stylish.

Damn him.

I placidly looked back at Robin, who was now eating what I guess was her fourth piece. She smiled at me, thankful.

I divert her gaze: it's not that I took the reign of the conversation so you could eat or anything, you idiot!

I did that because he was the annoying type of character! Really! Damn it stop smiling like that!

I decided to eat my second piece. It was still disgusting, but free food was free food, above all if you were in the wilderness.

"You got some water inside that coat?" I idly asked, trying to ignore the smile. I didn't really expect anything from her.

Gulping her bite, she nodded. She quickly took from the coat a container.

Hesitantly, I took it from her and sniffed it.

It stank.

"Take few sips. We have another one, but we'll need that for tomorrow."

I sighed in resigned acceptance. It wasn't the ideal, but she was right.

Drinking, I briefly wondered how she could recall all these tips for camping and emergency situations. It wasn't anything too shocking, save the hunting, so I could still believe the claim that she has no memory.

But she seemed almost… in sync with the situation.

The water was, unsurprisingly, not fresh or clean by any standard; like everything that I had today.

But I enjoyed the water nonetheless, thanks to the hours of walking done today.

Once finished, I grudgingly gave the water bottle back to its owner, and she gulped the last remnant of the liquid in one go.

With a satisfied sigh, she took the bottle back in her coat, and we both enjoyed the relaxing sensations of rest and warmth, camping after a long day of hardship.

We stood firm one in front of the other, staring at the flames of our improvised camp.

And in the silence, I thought.

I thought of home. I thought of how sad my sister would be when she didn't find me home once back from school. Of how worried my parents would be for my absence.

Of how Yukinoshita would frown and scold me for being in this situation or how Yuigahama would fret in panic over me.

I thought of how prof Hiratsuka would punch me in the gut for skipping a day of school or…

"Hachiman…" the light voice of my unfortunate companion broke me from my musing.

I still haven't stopped her from calling me that. Only Saika can do that. Only Saika would do that.

Not Komachi. Not Yukinoshita. Yuigahama gave me a nickname thought.

I looked back at her, and I found myself staring at brilliant golden eyes.

She was…close. Not exceptionally close, but now, instead of in front of me, she was at my side.

"Mmh?" I mumbled sombrely.

"We should go to sleep." She simply said. Nodding, I observed Robin extinguish the fire.

Sleeping on the ground while in the open would normally be a hassle, a burden, for someone that has slept in a bed for all his life.

But being mentally beaten and tired from the day, with all those events and emotional trauma, didn't make me complain like I normally would.

Well, the emotional trauma was mostly Robin, giving her circumstances, but I too, was exhausted.

I placed myself under a tree, the cold air of the night washing over me, making me shiver.

Soon, Robin joined me. Under the same tree. Right next to me.

Too close.

Like, we could touch each other's shoulder close.

I frowned at her, but she didn't seem intimidated by my disappointment. Instead, she lightly smiled and said: "It's cold." like it was all the explanation I needed.

My frown deepened. She was right, of course. Sharing body heat was a well-known method to prevent cold, and a cliché one that I read in every book or novel.

The problem was.. it felt intimate.

Why she didn't seem to get that, it was a mystery.

But I didn't need to see it that way. I have to think like a means to an end; survival (even if its a stretch) and prevent the two of us from freezing to death.

Of course, my mental straight didn't change much.

Seeing me not attempting to distance her, Robin took her clue and made herself comfortable.

And then… we just stared at the sky, at the stars, awkward and insecure of what to do, or say.

Normally, I would be strongly against this kind of retarded and stupidly cliché development.

Two people, a boy and a girl close together under a tree under the excuse of sharing body heat?

It is a situation so overused it made me sick every time I have to read it in a novel; or, if I just happen to see it in real life, I would roll my eyes and think that the two idiots should go and die together if they want to recreate the lovely experience.

Romeo and Juliet is a worldwide 'romantic' success after all, why don't they recreate that?

In a novel, this situation should be the cute and romantic moment that would make the audience go 'aww' and realize that the author was hinting a specific pairing.

But now, I knew better.

There was nothing sweet or romantic in this situation. We were two strangers to each other, we knew each other barely six hours ago at least.

We were both exhausted and cold, smelled like rotten garbage, and I personally wanted only to close my eyes and wake up in my home, and remember all of this as a nightmare.

Yes, all of this was everything but romantic.

Lazily, I observed the star, trying to figure out the constellations and, obviously, I didn't recognize any.

I never have, and never would. I could barely find the North Star.

I close my eyes, amused by my futile attempt.

"Goodnight, Hachiman." Robin said softly, but her hands gripped tightly around my left arm.

It hurt. A lot.

"G-good night Robin." I answered back, flinching at the pain. The grip relaxed after a bit, and it didn't take much time for me to succumb to the fatigue and fall asleep.

* * *

A powerful tremor woke me up.

"Ugh!" I grunted, displeased by the rude awakening.

"Mmh… what's happening…" was the incompressible mumbling of my very albino and very real companion.

I slowly opened my eyes: "An earthquake, it seems. And a powerful one too…" I sighed, my eyes slowly focusing the surroundings.

"Don't worry too much. Let's just move."

Robin grumbled incoherently something about 'stupid' and 'comfortable', but I ignored in favor to analyze my surrWHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?

Now that I could clearly see, I finally noticed the absolute hell that was happening before me.

It seemed that the earthquake was stupidly powerful, because what I was seeing was a scene directly from an apocalypse movie.

Instead of just shaking or cracking; the earth was shattering, some part of it rising, creating new wall of earth and rocks.

And freaking magma and lava was sprouting in the horizon, right in the middle of the forest, creating meteors that expanded the damage.

And the forest was on fire.

Thankfully, we were not in the center of that hell. But it was spreading.

"Hachiman! Run!" Robin screamed in panic, pulling me and shaking me from my horrified daze.

Without wasting any more time, I hastily stumbled on my feet and flanked Robin. "Got everything?" I hastily asked, scanning the dirt.

She nodded, and that was the final cue to get the hell out of the way.

Of course, this is where I noticed that the sky was glowing. Looking up, I saw massive circle inscribed with strange scripture ripping the space apart.

From the holes, I could see…things falling from them. Humanoid things. Watching more on the horizon, I saw that the entire visible sky was covered in that circles.

What is that? What is happening?

"Hachiman, what is this?" Robin screamed, making me turn to see her.

She looked horrible.

To be fair, I probably looked the same. "I-I don't know. I've never seen anything like…like this!" I growled back, losing precious air needed to escape from this nightmare. "Just run!" I screamed.

She nodded and we accelerated.

We run. We run without looking back. I run until my legs couldn't take more running.

Of course, when that happened, I collapsed. Robin stopped immediately and quickly helped me up.

I dared to look back, and I was satisfied to notice that we were far away from the forest.

I looked up to Robin. She looked winded, but I was ready to throw up my dinner.

"I-I think (uff)… w-we're(ugh) safe now(urf)" I finally managed to say.

Robin took several deep breaths, slowly nodding her acceptance.

She gave me a small smile, which promptly died when she was hit by a realization.

"Gods! Lissa! Chrom! Everyone! They're still there!" she screamed in panic.

My breath stopped.

She was right. They were still inside the forest. The same forest that now was on fire and that was infested by those shadows.

"We have to help them!" she screamed, turning towards the fire, probably to start running again, only that this time, towards the danger.

She found herself stopped by a strong grip to her wrist.

"Ha-Hachiman?" she asked, confused.

I shook my head. Her eyes narrowed in horror. I bit my lips. Strangely, I could taste iron.

"No." I finally whisper.

Her reply was instantaneous: "But…"

I shook my head again, and pointed at the forest: "Look…" I said. She complained and flinched at the situation.

The forest was now completely engulfed by the flames, or so it seemed.

"The fire is still spreading. If we go there, we will die before reaching them. The smoke will kill you before the heat." I slowly explained.

I heard Robin gulping, and I continued pressing, trying to stop her to run to her death.

"And even if we survive when we find them, then we will all be surrounded by the flames. What can we do then? Throw at them the last of our water? Run through it?" I demanded.

She flinched.

"Look, think about it. They have horses. If they are smart, they will abandon the weapons and armours and ride."

That seemed to do the trick. She calmed, a bit. She still seemed panicked, but at least she wasn't ready to throw herself to the flames.

I looked again at the flames to find something, anything, to calm her down and stop her reckless charge. "And look, they probably know the forest better than us, so they know that the path is the long way out of it. They will surely run at the edge of the forest!" I explained, showing her the extension of the woodland.

Robin observed me, then slowly turning to the forest and then again at me.

She was shaking.

"Yes…you're…right. They…they'll be fine." She slowly said, gulping.

Robin turned to me, again, and gave me a shaky smile. "Right?" she asked.

"Right!" I hastily answered, hopeful of not sounding as desperate as I felt.

Maybe she didn't notice. Maybe she understood me better than I gave her credit for, but Robin just stood there, staring at me in the eyes.

I cracked, and, looking away, I said: "We should move."

She agreed, nodding hesitantly: "Yes…yes we should." she whispered, before a sob forced its way, breaking her composure.

I just stared, reflecting on what I had just done. Did I just condemn people?

"Let's go." I said, starting marching towards… something. Away from the forest.

Robin, thankfully, followed me, and decide to don't just… run towards the fire.

Silence fell between us.

Both of us were too occupied to think about the last events.

The cosplayers… did I? No… that wasn't important.

Not as important as what caused the fire.

My mind was a mess, recalling what I had just assisted. And even if I wanted to forget, just looking up to the sky would remind me of the apocalyptic scenario I was living.

Purple circles in the sky.

The earthquake could be explained. That was easy. It wasn't unreasonable. But the circles? The falling shadows?

That… didn't have a logical explanation. A prank? What a joke, this is too much to be a prank!

It could be possible, but the amount of work and money needed to pull something like this would dry half the money of a nation!

So … this was real. All that happened was real. But it was impossible.

Except that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

I choked a laugh, calling my companion attention.

Yes, but what was more impossible? That all of this glowing summoning bullshit was real or that all of this is an elaborate prank at my expense, a joke financed by my country nonetheless?

The truth must be… the truth…

"Hachiman!" Robin screamed, panicked. She slammed her body into mine, making me lose my balance.

We both fell on the ground, and I heard a thud from behind me. Turning my head, I observed in horror an arrow. An arrow that was impaled on the terrain.

What?

"Hachiman, get up! Can you fight?" the female voice that I could barely associate to my Robin's asked. But I was confused. I didn't understand much.

Fight? What? The… "I—no. Never…"

I heard an expression of disappointment, but Robin helped me up nonetheless.

Once on my feet, I could see the culprit of the attack. It was… a thing.

Robin's hand clenched mine, and she gulped. I mirrored her.

The closest thing I could compare the… monster in front of me was a zombie. But it wasn't. Not completely at least.

From my knowledge, zombies were moving corpses, with decadent flesh and zero intelligence. This thing had flesh. It was grey, pale and sickly, but it was there. It even wore armour and mask, and wielded a weapon.

I gulped.

The archer wasn't alone. They were in five of them.

"U-undead…" I whispered, shocked.

My vision blurred, and I almost fell on my knees observing the impossibility in front of me. It was only the grip of the woman beside me that allowed me to regain part of my wits.

"Stay strong Hachiman." The voice, Robin's voice admonished me.

I gulped.

She felt… different. Calm. Collect, in some way. In control. But Robin wasn't like that. I knew her. She was scared too.

"Do you know them, Hachiman?" she asked, eyeing the monster carefully.

Do I? I… I don't think…

I observed them. They were still, waiting. They weren't even breathing. But if they were Undead, they wouldn't need to.

"I-I know of… them" I settled to say, feeling myself shaking pathetically.

"Weak points?" she asked, slowly but steadily taking out of her coat a book and a sword.

The things were walking towards us. They weren't running, but they were fast. Like marching.

We took steps back, maintaining the distance. She wanted to fight them, I realized. Was she crazy? We should run!

But they were in front of us, and a forest on fire behind us.

Shit!

I gulped. Weak points? I had to… yes, that should work.

"Undead are… they don't feel pain. They are not… no, they could be slightly stronger than an average human. Weak points… the head or the heart. Those two."

I could feel her nod, and she said: "They wear armour, so, head is the optimal choice."

She nodded to herself and gave me her sword. "Hachiman, I need you to calm down and fight with me. I can't win against all of them alone. Can you do that?"

I hesitate. Fight with her? I can't fight! I never fought in my life, less of all fought with a sword!

I took the weapon. In my hand, it felt heavy. Real.

I… wasn't dreaming, was I?

Robin raised her hand, her tome in the other, and quickly explained: "I'll distract them. You close the archer and behead it. Then hit the next one. Ok?"

I nodded. It was a good plan as any.

Sound of static reached my eyes, but I didn't dare to leave the monsters unwatched.

"Thunder!" the albino; the mage, I realized; screamed, and I felt and saw lightning flashing in front of me.

Magic.

The spell impacted against the terrain in front of the archer, who was now prepared with its next arrow.

I almost deflate at the failure.

Then the magic exploded, and Robin screamed: "Go!" prompting me to take action. The Undead were now flying away, dispersed, and I quickly followed the archer.

When I reached my target, I noticed that it was trying to get up. So I kicked him on his leg and let it fell again like a sack of potatoes. I then proceeded to stab him in his unprotected head.

The first hit pierced the bone of the skull. It wasn't enough, because I could see it was still moving.

So I struck again. This time, it pierced deeper, and, accordingly, the thing was having difficulty moving.

Another explosion behind me, but I ignored it and stabbed the archer again, this time ending it, making it evaporate in front of my eyes.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to process what was happening.

I didn't have the luxury.

"Hachiman!" a warning shout called me, and I moved. "Thunder!" She quickly screamed again, followed by another explosion near me.

Behind me was an Undead with an ax. Ax who was going to gut me, without a doubt. Slowly, I saw the thing turning towards the source of damage, but I capitalized on his distraction.

I swung the swords with all my strength trying to behead him in one shot.

I hit the armour, but the surprise attack made the Undead stumble in the dirt.

I capitalized, again, and, following the lead of my previous kill, I stabbed him in the skull.

It took two stabs this time before it started to vanish.

I didn't rest to admire my work.

Instead, I turned towards the source of the explosion, and briefly, observed how Robin alternatively cast her magic to two of the things, a lance wielder, and a sword wielder.

She was successful at keeping them at bay, but it didn't take a genius to understand that the continuous casting was tiring her.

So I charged again, screaming pathetically.

My arms hurt, my head hurt, and I just wanted to this to end. But I couldn't. I do not want to die. I will not die. Robin will not die.

So I charged, trying, once again, to behead the Undead.

Of course, the third time is not the charm.

I hit armour, cracking a bit of it, but aside from that, I only managed to catch is attention.

It ignored Robin, and, turning to me, it tried to stab me in the guts. I hastily dodged, and then rushed to attack again. This time, I swung to his face.

This was more difficult to miss, seeing that the thing didn't even try to dodge the blow, trying to tank it.

Like hitting a baseball, the head cracked, and another swing destroyed it.

The last one was fighting Robin, or trying to anyway.

When I turned to check her, Robin launched a last spell that broke his skull with impact alone. The thing, like all his kind, disappeared in a black mist.

I let the sword fall on the dirt, and I quickly followed its example, breathless and exhausted. "Hachiman!" Robin screamed, running towards me.

She kneeled, and gently put my hand on my shoulder, looking worriedly over me. Probably searching for injuries.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt? Goddesses, I'm so sorry you have to do that but…"

"I'm fine!" I snapped. She closed her mouth.

"I'm not injured, just tired. Don't excuse yourself, because you were right."

She was right. On everything.

She looked at me for a few seconds, before she launched herself in my arms, hugging me.

I… didn't react. I was.. too exhausted. Too surprised. Too… something, to tell her off.

It was nice.

"I…w-when the axe…I-I thought you were… thank you…" she cried, squeezing me hard.

Mechanically, I hugged her back.

Yeah… I was going to… If Robin hadn't… An axe would… an Undead would have…

But Robin stopped it.

From afar.

With lightning.

From her palm.

Magic.

Someone was laughing. But Robin was crying on my shoulder.

I was laughing.

And why wouldn't I? I was alive. In a strange world. Alone. With Robin.

With magic. With princes and knights. With Undead roaming free.

Wasn't it funny?

So I laughed.

(So I cried.)

**Author Notes: **

**Sup. Taine here, with my first serious story.**

**English is not my first language, so even with a beta reader, there ay be some errors, I apologize for that. If someone wants to help, he can send me a message.**

**As the title says it is a crossover between Oreigaru and Fire Emblem Awakening. The game that saved a franchise; and is the definition of Waifu War. Knowledge of this Fire Emblem is not necessary, I'll do my damn best to make sure I explain how things work in Ylisse so the story is for everyone.**

**Now, for who knows the game, expect world-building and added backstory for some character. In other words, don't freak out if things are different. There is a reason that will be explored as the story progresses.**

**Also, plot derailment.**

**Now, for the fans, pairings. I have ONE pairing set in stone, and it is NOT Robin /Hachiman. Do I have a preference for them? Yes, but it is not set in stone.**

**Oreigaru side: Knowledge of the Novel or Anime is not strictly necessary but, as shown, a lot of name from the series will pop up sometimes. I'll do a quick rundown of the names:**

**_Yukinoshita Yukino_: the cold rich tsundere (The Tsun is strong in this one, and a lot of time I found her just plain mean.) Socially incompetent and inferior complex are the reason of her tsun side, but that's not important for the story. Despite the development, I don't like her.**

**_Yuigahama Yui_: The genki girl. Boobs. Academically dumb. The only socially competent. Should be main girl between the core group.**

**_Totsuka Saika_: The trap. It's a guy. Tennis Club captain. It's a guy. Socially awkward. It's a guy. Just want to be a bro. Did I mention that HE is a GUY? Because he is. I like him.**

**_Zaimokuza Yoshiteru_: Fat chuuni boy, which means he constantly impersonates a historical character with his name. Want to be a novelist, but it seems he is horrible at it. I relate to the guy.**

**_Hikigaya Komachi_: Sly little sister. She has Hachiman whipped. That Siscon.**

**_Kawasaki Saki_: You don't need to know her, just that Hachiman can't remember her name. It's a running gag. Delinquent with a heart of gold. Can sew and cook. Brocon. Wife material, best girl of his age group.**

**_Foxy Junior A.K.A Isshiki Iroha_: Still don't need to know her, but… Junior, Student Council President, lazy and third rate manipulator. Want to remain at the top of the social pyramid. Hachiman sees her as a little sister, or so he says. I'm inclined to agree. Crush hard on Hachiman, but don't want to admit to herself 'cause Hachiman is a loner. Go figure.**

**_Hayame Hayato_: Blonde and Rich. Popular guy. Sociopath (by Hachiman standards). Just want to stay with his circle forever.**

**_Yukinoshita Haruno_: Yukino older sister and a major cause of her complexes. Ara-Ara Onee-san type. She is a social genius and manipulator, but can't have a decent relationship with his sister and family.**

**Those are the people mentioned in this chapter. Others may appear, but the only one worth mentioning is:  
_Hiratsuka Shizuka_: Hot teacher. Thirty-something. Single. Violent, smoke, whiny and nerdy. Good life advisor. Best Girl.**

**I will check the reviews, but I am not sure I will answer them or where. **

**Corrections are appreciated.**

**See you next time,**

**Taine**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Let's take a look at Chrom's side, shall we?**

**Thankfully, Chrom is skilled**

"Thank you, my Lord! Thanks to your timely rescue, we were…"

If there was something that would normally lift my spirit after an arduous battle, it would be hearing the gratitude of the citizen we helped.

Raising my hands, both unfortunately soaked in unidentified blood in what I hoped was a reassuring manner; I stopped him from speaking further.

"No thanks is needed, sir. This is just our duty as Shepherds. We need no rewards or thanks."

Pain flared from my side, where a hastily made bandage covered a deep cut inflicted from the leader of this particular group of scoundrels.

But my pain mattered little because around us, the scene was an equally hurtful one: houses and shops were destroyed or burnt to the ground; corpses of bandits and civilians alike were amassed and set aside.

Thankfully, the fire was now tamed, and the bandits' casualties outnumbered the civilians by a large margin.

Nevertheless, the casualties were still deaths that could have been easily avoided, if only he would have been a bit faster, a bit better.

To add insult to injury, I knew that this village would have a hard time picking itself back up, especially without the support of the Capital.

Support that, despite being the Prince of the nation, I could not assure without the Exalt and the Council approval.

I gritted my teeth, thankfully unseen by the people.

And all of this was because of Plegian's greed.

I stopped and, mentally slapping myself, I hastily corrected my shameful line of thought.

That was not true.

It was not the Plegian's, but their King's greed. The Mad King's greed.

"I'm sorry we couldn't come earlier. We will immediately turn back to the Capital and request support." I apologized, bowing my head slightly.

The man in front of me, the village leader, did not reply to my answer. He, in turn, just bowed more deeply:

"Thank you, my Lord… thank you."

I nodded, smiling slightly. I had to say something, at least. Something to reassure them and lift their spirit.

With that in mind, I coughed, catching the attention of the head villager and everyone around him.

I glanced at Lissa, my sister, who, may the Gods bless her soul, was now healing Frederick, injured by a lucky fire spell.

Noticing my gaze and my hesitation, they both nodded in approval, steeling my conviction. Frederick seemed especially eager and enthusiastic about what was going to happen.

I chuckled, suddenly feeling a bit more nervous of the attention.

Turning my gaze to the townsfolk, my people, I took a deep breath:

"Today, Southtown faced a terrible trial…" I started, and I immediately stopped, almost wishing to hit myself just here and there.

Really Chrom? Already reminding them of that?

The pause seemed to have the curious effect of capturing the peoples attention. Sadly, it seemed that more people were gathering to hear my speech.

Despite my frustration, I raised my voice. The more people that heard it, the better… right?

"The culprit are, by now, clear to us."

Another moment of silence fell on the group before a woman in the front screamed in rage, her tears clearly visible from my position:

"Those Plegians animals!"

I recognized her: I saw her kid being beheaded right when I arrived, and I briefly saw another body, probably her husband, when I rushed out of the house to help more people.

My heart ached at her hateful words. This raw emotion, this disdain and hate were expected.

"True." I admitted tiredly.

But before someone else could scream and break the fragile balance created by my presence, I snapped violently my hand to call the silence.

Nobody spoke.

"The bandits were of Plegian origins. But accusing the people of Plegia for their sins is not the answer. We all know that the real evil is not them."

This time I didn't even have the opportunity to continue the speech, when an elder that I could barely see from my position raged, letting the entire assembly hear his words.

"The Mad King!"

I nodded, and I felt my grimace show to the masses. This time, I didn't bother hiding it.

"Exactly. The Mad King. It is him that encourages countless bandits, Plegian, Feroxi or Ylissean alike, to do his dirty deeds. It is him that personally funds those dastard rouges with the royal treasure.

A treasure that comes from his people. People that, like our Exalt, like us, want nothing more than peace, time to collect themselves, and live a dignified and happy life after their fathers and sons were lost in the war."

The silence persisted. Damn, I was derailing. Damn you, Emm, and all those speech's lessons!

"Rest assured, the Mad King will pay." I slowly said.

That got some reaction, some movement.

"But this can't be done just by myself. Not alone." I added, regaining their attention, preventing an explosion of emotions and screams.

"I need you." I explained, closing my eyes. Despite that, I could feel the volatile emotions that were quickly running through the crowd, from the confusion to the excitement.

"We need you."

"The Exalt and I need you, good people of Ylisse, to react. Because an Exalt is nothing without its people."

I snapped my eyes open, and took a deep breath, preparing myself for the next part.

"We need to show the Mad King Gangrel that Ylisse will not cower before him. That Southtown will not accept this attack like cowards."

I stopped and inhaled air to restore my breathing. Gods, I hate speeches…

"We ask Southtown to not yield. I ask you, Southtown of Ylisse, to restore this beautiful village. I ask you to make it better than before!"

I was thankful that my speech was working. A lot of the younger survivors were starting to rile up and cheer, while others seemed just to feel better.

"Southtown!" I yelled, using all my voice to reach everyone.

"Will you rise to the challenge? Will you, proud citizens of Ylisse, offer your support and work with the Royal Family to show Gangrel, no, the whole world, that you and Ylisse will thrive and laugh in the face of the Mad King's petty vengeance?"

This time, my words seem to open a gate. An enthusiastic roar of determination and cheer erupted from the crowd.

I smiled. This time it didn't feel forced or wooden.

I bowed slightly, showing my gratitude.

"Thank you." I whispered. I did not know if someone heard me, but it mattered little.

Maybe, just maybe, this would help them endure the pain.

* * *

"Southtown, will you show them!?" Lissa screamed in a pompous voice, a poor imitation of my own, before bursting into a fit of laughter.

I groaned in response, feeling the embarrassment catching up now that we were long gone from the eyes of the villagers.

And by embarrassment, I meant to say the teasing of my little sister for my improvised 'speech'.

"Goodness Chrom, it was awesome! You were all serious and knightly, trying to imitate big sis's speeches!" she said before laughing again, making me feel the need to stab myself with Falchion for shaming my family name.

"Nonsense, Lady Lissa. I personally found Milord's speech very inspiring and heartily. Why, I feel like I could take the entirety of the bandit group anew alone!" my retainer replied, with a small and rare smile gracing his lips.

"I am sure Lady Emmerin would be proud of your action today." He concluded.

Hearing his honest opinion and his compliments made me feel a little better. Despite his overprotectiveness and eccentric manners, Frederick was never someone who babied us...

… much.

But if he said that I did a good job, I could believe that he was telling his honest opinion.

Which, now that I think about it, could mean that he simply was too blind to critique…

Nevertheless, the speech worked, so everything was fine!

Now if only Lissa could stop laughing and let the matter rest, possibly for the rest of our life, everything would be perfect.

"I have to tell this to Maribelle! Oh and Sumia! Vaike too! I bet they would be overjoyed to hear this!"

I flinched. I really, really hoped she would forget to do that.

The last thing I wanted was that others, especially Vaike, know about that. He would never let me live it down.

He would inscribe the speech on my grave!

Gods, I could already see this happening. I have to stop her!

"Why, yes Milady, that is a wonderful idea! I would be sure to refer this speech to Lady Emmerin and Phila to make it print for the guards. It will surely raise their morale!"

Gods, please no! "Frederick, no!"

"Frederick, yes!" the cheery voice of my younger sibling covered mine.

Frederick didn't seem to hear my plea, and judging from the little smile he was wearing, he was already organizing the event!

I sighed and resigned myself to future embarrassment.

"At least I hope the speech helped to attenuate the resentment of the people, or at least direct their focus on restoring their town…" I said, hoping to divert the subject to something different.

Lissa gave me a last, amused smile, but seemed to take the distraction. She sobered and decided to reassure me:

"Don't worry Chrom, I'm sure it worked. Did you see how fired up the town seemed after you left?"

While I convulsed at the unfortunate choice of words, Frederick opted to ignore it, and nodded proudly, before adding his opinion:

"Yes, Milady is right. While I doubt that it completely subdued the flames of hatred after such a heavy and cruel attack, I am positive that they will not forget your passionate speech during the reconstruction."

I grimaced hearing his honest opinion, but decided to let this particular matter drop. I had just to wait and hope.

Instead, Lissa decided to jump to a new topic of conversation: "Speaking of the attack, how are you guys? There were at least fifteen enemies, and only you two against them. Do you still feel injuries?" she asked.

I let a small smile appear at her inquiry. As our only healer present, Lissa had the tendency to triple check all of her works.

Unfortunately, that meant that she quickly consumed all of her reserves and staffs.

So, even with the constant, but manageable pain that flared on my side, I just smiled and said:

"No Lissa, I'm fine. A bit tired, but that's all."

I glanced to Frederick, grimacing a bit and remembering the battle.

"But what about Frederick? He and Edmond took a lot of hits. Are you injured?"

Glancing back, Frederick nodded and assured: "Do not fret, Milord. We endured nothing that we couldn't take, and Milady healing has already restored the worst of the damage." He said, patting his horse in a rare form of affection.

The horse seemed to peer proudly at the attention his master gave to him.

My sister grimaced, looking suspiciously at him. I could see her mind at work, trying to decide on how to take those answers.

Unfortunately, she didn't take them well.

"Wait, so you're not completely healed! Frederick, I order you to stop and let me finish my cure!" she said, quickly jumping the horse.

Edmond, Naga bless his soul, didn't react at the sudden assault, and just continued to walk with my sister hanging on his back, completely unfazed by the sudden turn of events.

I barely contained an undignified snort of amusement. The scene was just that funny to watch.

Of course, Frederick was instead panicking. He quickly settled her on a proper position, before starting on scolding her for her recklessness and her unladylike behavior.

Even Edmond knew that it was a futile effort.

"You too Chrom. Don't think I didn't see you before!" Lissa snapped at me.

My smile promptly dropped. Caught with the hand in the jar. Why must Lissa be gifted with excellent observation skills?

"Now, Lissa, you should stop with that staff. Give it two more hours of rest. I don't want to wear you out."

My sister didn't take my words kindly. Glaring daggers, she quickly replied: "It is not important. I'm a cleric, a healer! It is my job to patch you up. It is the only thing I can do for you."

Before I could reply to let the matter rest, Frederick took the reigns of the conversation: "If I may, Milady, I think Lord Chrom has made a valid point. Normally, I wouldn't be averse to your healing, but Lady Lissa not only took charge of our injuries, but even healed the various injuries of the many villagers. That is an extremely taxing job, one that even a skilled individual like yourself or the Exalt would suffer from."

Lissa tried to retort, but seeing her attempt, I quickly interjected:

"As Frederick says, you healed more than fifty people today Lissa. Rest a bit, and you will heal us when we stop. We can endure some minor cuts and pain."

Lissa scowled, clearly displeased by our remarks, but crossing her arms irritably, she puffed: "Fine! If you are going to be like that! Don't come crying when the wounds reopen and worsen!"

Frederick chuckled, and I followed his example, relieved that she understood our reasoning: "Of course Milady. We will be careful."

She pouted and tried to make herself bigger, angrier and scarier, but all I could see was my cute baby sister trying to be an adult.

I could not resist the temptation, and patted her head. She, of course, waved it off and glared at me.

My smile became a bit more smug seeing her expression.

Ah, the joys of being a big brother.

"Pardon my intrusion, Milord, Milady, but I think we should hurry up and walk to the capital. As Lady Lissa said, we are not in optimal condition and unnecessary delays could cost us major risks."

Of course, my little revenge couldn't last long.

Hearing my retainer's advice, I simply agree, quickly followed by my sister.

"Yeah! And the faster we arrive, the faster we are going to help those villagers. Emm is better to send someone to help immediately." She puffed.

She then glanced back at me, a familiar, devious smile forming: "After all.." she started saying, slowly dragging the last word.

I glared: "Lissa no…"

She didn't let me finish, and, with a full, all too innocent smile, she said:

"We don't want to disappoint Chrom's favorite town, right!?"

I sighed, resigned to let the teasing happen. At least she didn't bring up the speech.

Small mercies.

Moments of silence followed her statement. Not hearing any kind of follow up to the joke, I allowed myself to relax.

Of course, being Lissa one of Frederick's students, it was the exact moment where she decided to strike the fatal blow.

"Southtown!" she screamed, laughing at the speech.

I whimpered and started to mentally pray.

Dear Naga, why? Just give me a distraction. Anything!

* * *

Of course, my prayers were for naught. Nothing happened, and Lissa continued her teasing all day long, until our injuries acted up, deciding that it was enough stress for today.

We decided to rest.

Lissa immediately took the occasion to jump on us, ordering us with all the authority the little princess could master (which was quite a lot) to stay still and let her heal the remains of today's battle.

Even Frederick's polite but stern attempts of letting him at least gather the wood to start a fire were brutally shot down.

He never looked so lost and proud at the same time as in that moment. It was a complicated expression.

So, our healing session began.

My sister started with the Great Knight, seeing that he showed a higher number of injuries between the two of us.

While working, Lissa hummed something between herself, and stopped for a moment. The hesitation lasted barely a second, and she immediately returned to her healing.

Ever the dutiful knight, Frederick took notice of this and decided to inquire.

"What is wrong, Milady?"

I too, glanced to my sister, furrowing my forehead.

Lissa looked up at him, tilting cutely her head before humming again.

"Nothing major Frederick. Just thinking about how Robin and Mr. Hachiman are doing now. They were abducted and mugged, and I'm not sure if they were completely fine. I made a quick check but…"

She didn't finish her thought, shrugging.

Shamefully, it took me some time to recall who she was talking about.

My eyes widened when the recollection of the meeting reached my mind.

Of course, the two travelers! The Plegian (Grimleal?) girl and the man in pyjamas.

Frederick grimaced, clearly displeased, but thinking nonetheless.

After some moments, he said, "If they walked up until now and followed the path, they should be at the border of the forest, two hours from the capital. If they are smart and follow Milord's wise instructions, they should be resting now."

Lissa smiled at Frederick's reassurance, and while the knight didn't quite smile back, he seemed to be pleased nonetheless.

Lissa then turned to me.

I quickly realized that she just finished her work with Frederick and wanted to start with me.

"I hope Emm will help them! It is terrible that they got kidnapped from their home." She said.

Frederick stood up, wearing his armor anew, and commented:

"A ridiculous claim, if I ever heard one. Any bandit would have killed them after their kidnapping. I still find doubts about your decision, Milord. They could be dangerous."

I couldn't move much without interfering with my sister healing, but I could give him my best deadpan look.

"Really Frederick? Hachiman was in his night vest, and yourself said he had a substandard physique. Only Robin seemed to have some form of training, and even you could see she was innocuous."

Frederick thankfully nodded, conceding my point.

"The girl wore a Grimleal coat for all of us to see, Milord. I will not be sorry for my suspicious."

I grimaced at the comment. It was a good point, unfortunately. While it didn't exactly mean she was against Ylissean nobility, the Fell Dragon's followers were notoriously aggressive against Naga's descendant, other than fervent supporters of another war against Ylisse.

But it seemed that my sister didn't share our opinion: "Oh Frederick! Not all Grimleal are brute ass! If she really was a faithful follower of the Evil Dragon, she wouldn't be traveling with Mr. Hachiman. Right Chrom?" she said, turning at me for support.

Blinking, I numbly nodded. Indeed, she was right, of course. That was the reason that I gave her the letter in the first place.

Purist like them tend to purge every 'unfaithful' they come across.

"The boy could still be plegian though." Frederick pointed out.

Only that this time, both my sister and I shared the same look of disbelief.

"Frederick, have you seen him? It's clearly not from Plegia. Or Ferox and Ylisse, really." She said, clearly exasperated by the comment.

"He lacked all the traits and the mannerism of a Plegian, and his accent was clearly one that we never heard of. And before you point out, he lacked all the… signs… of a newly converted Grimleal." I said.

Lissa audibly gagged at my last comment, and, while exaggerated, I completely shared her sentiment.

My retainer hesitated for a moment, but in the end, shook his head.

"Nothing that a good actor couldn't overcome." He explained.

I rolled my eyes. Because of course a couple of skilled Plegian actors would be out in the woods, waiting for us to give them a written recommendation to enter the Palace and assassinate the Exalt.

"Oh shush Frederick. You are just mad because Mr. Hachiman silenced you." Lissa admonished irritate, completing my treatment and turning to scowl at the Great Knight.

I could see Edmond wincing at her face, but he didn't move from his position beside his rider.

How brave.

But I smiled briefly at the comment. It was, after all, highly unusual for Frederick's conjectures being attacked so heavily with such sharp words.

"And that leads us to my next problem. He may have a weak body, but his keen mind is matched only by his sharp tongue and malevolent look."

I couldn't help but nod at his affirmation. Not in agreement with his arguments, but to his compliments to the man.

Indeed, his observations where truly something to behold. Deducing my status simply from our armor and my brand.

And it was frightening how he could give a rough description of my fighting style with only a glance. Granted, he wasn't completely correct, missing my preference for heavy hits and other details but still.

"He claimed your status as a Prince from your Brand, but he also claimed of not understanding its meaning. I found it quite a contradiction."

"Yeah, almost like he was a foreigner!" was Lissa sarcastic reply.

I flinched, noticing the exasperated tone. That did not bode well. Not for Frederick anyway.

An annoyed Lissa means an irritated Frederick.

"It matters little." I quickly interjected, catching the attention of my two companions.

Frederick slowly raised an eyebrow, waiting for elaboration.

"I already sent them to Emmeryn. Even if the two of them turns out to be spies, the guards will quickly take care of them. Robin is but one woman, and no amount of sharp words will cut an armor." I explained.

Lissa happily nodded, pleased to have me sided with her in this argument against the Great Knight.

Frederick, on the other hand, sighed, "I am not of the same opinion, Milord, but I can admit a far-fetched suspicion. A spy would have at least some basic training and a trained body."

He stopped, probably recalling the brief conversation our group had.

"Mr. Hachiman, as Lady Robin called him, showed us a physique of a healthy civilian."

I smiled and shook my head in agreement, glad to hear Frederick drop his suspicions, even if in such a dismissive manner.

Mr. Hachiman was clearly an academic after all.

And while that wasn't bad per se, knowledge didn't fight bandits, it didn't win a war.

As a man who dedicated all his life to the art of war, I didn't understand the appeal.

Frederick simply lamented the man lost in the army to the library.

An army that, unfortunately, Ylisse didn't have, because the Exalt chose to dismantle it in a show of goodwill to Plegia after the war.

I scowled, remembering that particular shard of information. I loved my older sister, I really did. I would slaughter hundreds for her.

That didn't mean I approved of every reform she took, especially the more radical ones.

But more than that, I trusted the Exalt. She did keep the country safe and rebuilt it after the war while Lissa and I were still playing with other children.

She deserved as much, even if he didn't truly believe in everything she does.

"Chrom? You're here? Will you do it?" the worried voice of my younger sister took me back to Ylisse.

"What?" I blurted out, without thinking.

She pouted, and tried to glare at me. Again, it didn't work, and all it did was make me smile.

Big mistake.

Lissa crossed her arms and looked at me with such a disappointed and crestfallen glare that not even Emm could hope to match, even with all her experience.

I squirmed, and she said: "Well, when you were wandering who knows where, Frederick started to search for wood for a campfire. I asked you if you could go hunting."

Feigning a calm that I certainly didn't possess, I nodded quickly, and calmly (no matter what Lissa would say) walked away to comply.

I was starting to get hungry anyway.

Returning with bear's meat, I decided, was satisfying revenge for all of Lissa's teasing; and to dissuade Frederick from the idea of the manifest.

"How could you offer to a lady such as myself something as unrefined as bear meat!?" my sister screamed, a bit dramatically.

It was interesting seeing her talk like this; it reminded me that my cheeky sister was indeed capable of noble mannerism. It gave me a strong resemblance with her best friend, Maribelle.

It was always interesting seeing the dignified face of my little sister, who I only know as a mischievous child, and it was equally interesting seeing Maribelle more vicious side periodically pop up when tested against the ruder people in our rank.

Sometimes I was jealous of their relationship. Despite strong differences, the two of them were like sisters.

I always wished to have that kind of relationship with someone else.

The Shepherds didn't count. He was their leader, an authoritative figure that they have to respect and rely on.

While I prided myself on being extremely approachable, I knew I couldn't show weaknesses with them.

The closest thing I had to that figure was Vaike, but he was more like an annoying sibling and a rival, or Frederick.

But the Great Knight was my retainer, my older brother more than the kind of figure he searched for.

I sighed, unknowingly letting a melancholic breath slip out.

Sometimes, I wish I had someone by my side, like the fabled Hero King Marth was rumored to have.

A true friend to share my worries, a constant companion on battle to watch my back. Someone like Kris, a mercenary that became the most trusted ally of the legend that unified Ylisse. My other half, so to speak.

"Milord?" a cautious word broke me from my wishful thinking. I turned a glance to Frederick, who was giving me a worried look.

"Milord, are you alright? If I may inquire, you seemed to be in deep thought." He said.

I couldn't help it, I smiled at the worry. What a wasteful line of thought. Just because there will not be my magical half, it didn't mean that I was alone.

That is more than others could ask for.

"Just thinking about the future, Frederick." I lied.

My retainer's gaze softened considerably, while Lissa, who was hesitantly munching her part of the bear, took the distraction to discard her meal.

"What about it, bro?" she asked, trying to sneakily trash her dinner. She failed spectacularly, but neither Frederick nor I wished to call her on that.

I dug on more of my meat with gusto, much to Lissa and Frederick's disgust.

I couldn't understand their aversion, really. Bear meat was delicious, even better than some of the meals we had at the palace.

Especially when its compared with Sully's… things.

"The Plegian attacks are more frequent now, and they became closer to the capital. I dread to think what the situation at the borders is." I said, clenching my fist.

It took only half a day of walking to find a bandit attack. If so, what was the situation on the borders with Plegia?

"And despite that, our numbers remain the same. The Shepherds are none more than nine, and I fear our strength will not be enough." I confessed.

It wasn't even a complete lie, my earlier thoughts were strictly tied to these fears.

Legends, people like the First Exalt and the Hero King made themselves known in the glory of the battlefield. But they weren't alone. Never.

They always had a number of allies and companions to aid them in the worst of the situation; friends that found in their travels and followed them thanks to their charisma and strong morals.

When I asked Emmeryn to create the Shepherds, I had a part of me that hoped to have the same experience, to live the dream.

Find friends in the world, forge unbreakable bonds that would lead me to victory.

And maybe, just maybe, a brave, strong woman who I could fall for.

It was silly, I had to admit, but that hope never completely fade.

But ever one of the sharpest men I know, Frederick seemed to pick immediately my train of thought: "Milord, I know that times are dire, but I do not think this is a good excuse to pick up two strangers and make them members of the elite force of the kingdom of Ylisse."

I blinked, processing what my brown-haired retainer said. Two people were an extremely precise number for a… ah. Of course.

"Peace Frederick. The thought of recruiting Robin and Hachiman never crossed my mind. Not until you mentioned it." I said amused.

I then feigned to adopt a pensive expression: "But thinking about it…"

"Milord…" the warningly but exasperated tone of the knight made me smile impishly.

"I jest Frederick. While I am a firm believer of giving everyone a chance, Hachiman and Robin had no sign of being interested in us, or even of being a capable fighters."

In truth, I suspected that at least Robin would be capable enough. She seemed to carry a lot of confidence, despite being lost.

If I had to give her a description, she would seem a lost warrior. A fighter without a cause.

But that could be my fantasy and childish wonder talking.

Hachiman's mind, on the other hand, would be appreciated at the rear of the battle, but he was no warrior, and mere words would only carry him so far in the world.

So, until Frederick didn't mention them, I did not think of them as potential recruits.

The Great Knight in question exhaled, relieved of the answer, and confessed, "I am glad you took your time to think about it, Milord."

Lissa chuckled at Frederick's words and I gave them a small smile, in truth feeling in part insulted from the admission.

If he really thought that I would do that, what's next? Recruit an assassin who tried to kill me, Emm or Lissa?

"Wipe your grimace from your face, Milord. I assure you I wasn't trying to suggest a lack of intelligence. I just noticed a… lack of common sense and an abundance of misplaced trust." He lightly chastised.

I didn't have the base to refuse the accusation.

"Besides…" the Great Knight continued, happily maintaining the fire of our camp and completely ignoring his portion of the dinner: "… we have plenty of talented squires or trainees who are perfect candidates for the title of Shepherds."

Lissa, now completely missing of her dinner, chirpily added, "Right! Like Sumia and Ricken!"

I slowly relaxed and nodded.

It wasn't the way I dreamed of them being recruited, far from it. It was no faithful encounter, nor a heroic rescue, but this was the reality.

And I couldn't be picky about my comrades. My people deserved better than such selfishness.

Not after the war. Not after… him.

"You're right of course. I just fear that by the time we would be enough, it would be too late, and the other corps would be hindered by our request." I explained.

Frederick's smile seemed to become even more satisfied at my comment, for some reason, "Thoughtful concerns, Milord, but you and the Exalt's charisma call a sizable number of youths in the corps. The numbers are not a concern. One or two voluntary from the guards and the Pegasus Knights a year will not be a problem for them."

Chrom nodded, finishing his bear absentmindedly.

That point was a mystery to me. It was notorious how the Exalt was against every form of violence, arriving to dismantle the national army to prove the point, only maintaining the Town Guards and Pegasus Knights to maintain the order in the castle and the capital.

I would have thought that this kind of politic would have reduced the interest of the population in such activity.

Yet, a good number of people decided to take the call. At least fifty every year.

Was it glory? Prestige? Money?

I did not know. Nevertheless, I was glad that fate worked in our favor.

Still… "Let's hope that we will not need to count on that." I said.

After all, it would mean that they were going to prepare for war. A war that neither we nor Emmeryn truly desire.

Lissa nodded, but Frederick's satisfied smile sobered. He closed his eyes, and looking at him, I could see resignation.

"Yes, let's hope. But, as knights and Shepherds, we must hope for the best, but work for the worst."

I nodded, and I could feel a surge of grim determination lit in my chest.

As much as I loathed to admit it, as much as I wanted to believe in the Exalt's hopes, in my sister's dreams, I couldn't and wouldn't follow every lesson imparted by her.

This was the main reason for the existence of this group, a gathering of altruistic and talented people who decided to protect their home.

They may be a small group, but each of them had much more ability and strength than the common soldier, each one of us excelling in their work.

It was why I, Frederick, and Lissa won the Southtown battle. We were only three, but thanks to Frederick's ability to manage an ample group of enemies and Lissa's support, we were able to defeat an entire group of bandits.

Sure, we bled, sure we took a lot of injuries, but we won. We were alive and the town was safe.

And that was all that mattered in the end.

"Enough mopey thoughts!" a voice suddenly burst out.

I flinched, surprised by the sheer volume of the sound.

Lissa was watching them with a big smile, lips and cheeks visibly soiled of an uneaten dinner.

I quickly glanced behind her, and sure enough, I saw the remains of a barely eaten bear.

Ah Lissa, you silly girl.

"Everything is alright now! No war, no major political conflict with Plegia or Ferox…" she stopped and glared at us, taunting and daring the two of us to contradict her.

When, after a moment, she got none, she nodded smugly, satisfied by our silence, "… and we know that sis will do everything in her power to have a peaceful resolution, if problems arise. So a war will not happen anytime soon!"

Frederick and I smiled lightly, with myself openly chuckling at her speech.

Glancing at each other, Prince and Knight reached the same conclusion.

"Well put milady. Of course, we should have more faith in our Exalt. She managed to conquer peace and the heart of her people. She is more than capable of maintaining this balance." Frederick conceded with a small, satisfied smile.

I just looked at her, staring amazed at her declaration. It took a full minute to find my ability to speak, but I couldn't do anything other than give her my acceptance.

This seemed to satisfy the younger girl, who at this point, just nodded satisfied and dropped on the terrain,

Silence followed the conversation.

It was a bit awkward, but we used the opportunity to muse over the day's events and the conversation.

This moment of peace didn't last long.

"Capitan Chrom!", a familiar female voice called from our back, and we turned to the source of the call.

As if on cue, a red blur rode into our vision, and the petite figure of one of my oldest friends, Sully, stopped proudly in front of us.

"Ah… Sully?" Lissa waved her, confused.

The red-headed knight smiled brightly; dismounting, "Lissa, Sir Frederick…" she saluted the two, before turning to me and saying:

"I'm glad to see your butts safe and sound. I came here to assist you in this patrol. Sorry for the lateness." The female Cavalier said.

Hearing her, I could not help but smile, half for the rather crude language she displayed and a half for noticing Frederick's resigned sigh.

"Thanks, Sully. Unfortunately, we are now returning to Ylisstol with… bad news."

The explanation had the double effect that he expected from her: for one, she relaxed her posture treating the comment as a dismissal of formalities and at the same time she grimaced.

"What happened?" She inquired.

I didn't hesitate and narrated everything that happened to us, from the patrol to the events of Southtown. Of the battle and the state of the village.

While describing the events, I noticed her frown slowly alleviating with the story. I did not think ill of it.

Sully had the mind-set of expecting the worst of every situation; so hearing a report so… tame, lacking a better term, made her relax.

"I see…" she simply said, once the story ended.

Now all comfortable on the ground, the redhead pondered on what she just heard.

In the end, she just settled for saying, "If I was here we would have destroyed the bastards in half the time.", which was her way to say that she was sorry for not being with us and that she was glad that everyone was fine.

Frederick, deciphering her true words, waved off her hidden apology with a curt nod:

"It is true that your great skills would have been a considerable boon for our battle, but your sorrow is not required. Like us, you were performing your assigned duty as a knight of Ylisse. There is no better reason for your absence. Think nothing of it."

Lissa seemed to be of the same idea, and cheerily patted her back in comfort. She flinched at the contact of the cold steel, but it quickly passed away when she smiled at the red knight.

"Frederick is right. We won, we are fine, and you were out there saving people. It's a complete victory for us."

I could tell how those words were of little solace: the smile she gave us was melancholic, and the gaze was still downcast.

Nevertheless, we all let the matter rest. We all know that words could not cure her misplaced sense of guilt.

So Lissa decided to change the subject, "How are things at the castle?"

Sully took the opportunity to improve the mood.

"'S fine. Recruits aren't slacking without Frederick, Lady Emmeryn is unharmed and happy, and the others are all working. Miriel and Stahl went patrolling towards the borders, and I met Vaike and Sumia at the gates. They found some slave traders and dispatched them." She reported, looking satisfied.

"Alone?" I asked surprised.

Sully shrugged: "I'm not sure. From the quick report, the Dumbass charged alone and took half of them occupied. Sumia may or may not have had help from the local militia."

I just sighed. From the sound of it, Vaike had been surrounded and Sumia saved him with the help of the militia. Hopefully, The Vaike would be back in-game when we head back in Ylisstol.

"How is Maribelle?" Lissa asked, noticing the absence of her name in the list.

The knight's forehead wrinkled, and she snorted mockingly: "She's fine." She spat.

Lissa blinked, surprised at the sudden venom in her voice: "What's the problem?"

Sully looked at her, then at me. She maintained the silence for a few moments before finally starting to talk,

"The problem? The problem is that the princess has a stick up her ass!", she growled, smashing a fist on the ground.

Lissa didn't react, and I just raised an eyebrow at the comment. Frederick watched the scene, impassable.

As expected, she didn't stop with the outburst, "We're on patrol, on the east side, and we found a village damaged by a group of bandits. They were fine, the town guards were able to repel them, they were just punks with a lot of hot air. Didn't need much help to dispatch of them."

She breathed, and continued, "Then we remain there, to help the village out, you know? Move the ruins, help with the wounded, all that crap."

"After she finished with the civvies, I asked her to help me with the repairs. But she refused! She refused for some stupid ass reason like how this was beneath her and she should let do the work to the commoners! The gall!" she growled.

I glanced at Lissa, who simply huffed after the little story. She did not seem particularly affected by her best friend's behavior.

Which means she probably knew something that we don't. Probably, Maribelle had another idea for helping them, if I had to guess.

Meanwhile, Sully continued to let off steam to us. "That stuck up lady probably didn't want to soil her stupid dress or some shit like that!"

Seeing Lissa don't raise a fuss in her best friend's defense, and I was simply letting Sully talk, Frederick was the one who decided to stop the Cavalier's ranting and defend her companion.

"Stop this disgraceful behavior at once, Sully. It is unbecoming of a knight of Ylisse of badmouthing a respectful comrade, a fellow Shepherd, with such harsh words."

Sully immediately stopped, but she sent a badly hidden glare to the Great Knight.

"I understand what are you saying Sully, but I think you are being unfair to Maribelle. She probably was tired of the battle and the healing, and she didn't have your training and stamina." I said.

Sully glanced to Frederick, who was nodding in acceptance at the explanation, while Lissa just shrugged.

"Or maybe she is just a baby girl too lazy and coddled to…" she murmured.

Finally snapping, my sister shot up and scowled at the Paladin: "Sully, stop it!" she screamed.

The Paladin promptly closed her mouth, but the displeased glare remained. "Fine." She spat, letting the matter rest.

Lissa sat down, crossing her arms and giving a light, displeased puff.

Seeing the situation tensing I laughed awkwardly. That got the attention of everyone.

Gods, what to do now? Think Chrom...

Fortunately, I didn't have to come up with anything.

"Gah!" a new voice panted.

We all shot up and turn to the source of the sound, to find a man bent on his knees.

Lissa and I let the hold from Falchion and her staff, seeing the man's state. Unfortunately, Sully and Frederick just gripped their hold tighter.

I glanced at the two and said: "Relax. I'll deal with him."

Sully hesitated for a moment before complying, but Frederick gave me a severe look of discontent and refused to comply.

I just let the matter go.

"Are you alright? You seem widened." I asked the silver-haired man.

The man took some moments to breathe and stabilize his breathing, before straightening himself.

I noticed that he quickly looked around, counting us, before lightly bowing to me.

"It is all good, sir. I am just suffering the consequences of my choices of pursuing my heart." He explained.

I blinked, unsure on how to answer such a statement.

"Would you like to sit with us and rest for a bit?" I settled to ask.

"Why yes, I would love to. But first…"

The man, archer, judging from the bow he had on his shoulders, turned to Sully, and slowly walked towards her.

I simply observed until, the man got on one knee in front of her.

I watched confused when the bowman promptly declared his love to my friend.

"My lady, it is finally time for our destined encounter. I ran through forests to meet such a…"

"Who the heck are you?" Sully interrupted bluntly, crossing her arms in contemplation.

So she didn't know him? He wasn't a suitor? Strange…

But the man didn't seem to have lost heart and, unfazed, replied: "Of course, how remissive of me. My name is Virion, the Archest of Archer, and I came here in pursuit of your beauty from the gate of Ylisstol."

Sully arched a brow.

Lissa couldn't stop a giggle.

Frederick was Frederick, and stood on guard, observing the scene in waiting for a possible backstabbing.

I just stared, confused.

"Never saw you. You were stalking me?" Sully questioned. She didn't seem upset, probably because she judged him too weak to actually harm her.

"I would never! A gentleman like myself would not stalk a fair maiden! I simply decided to follow my soul desire and aid you in your quest." The bowman… Virion said.

"And how, pray you tell, would you know that quest?" Frederick interrupted, taking ample steps towards him, with his hands steely pressed on his silver lance.

To his credit, Virion didn't even flinch or hesitated when he answered: "Of course, good sir, from the people. When I asked the good citizen of Ylisstol who such an eye-catching beauty was, they were more than happy to tell a simple traveler such basic information."

He then turned again towards the Paladin still on one knee and added: "Of course, I would love to hear your name from your lovely lips, milady."

The milady in question laughed loudly in a mocking and decisively unladylike manner, before answering: "Alright Ruffles, you win. Name's Sully. What'cha want from me? M' family is not that rich."

Virion got up and took a step back, gaining distance.

"You wound me milady. I would never court a woman for such vulgar things like money. The pursuit of beauty is the only reward that I need." The Archer said, his smile disappearing and replaced by an affronted and displeased scowl.

This is when I decided to newly step in the conversation. I gave him an apologetic smile and said: "You have to excuse my friend. As you can see, she is a trained and valorous knight, irreplaceable for the Kingdom. She does not have many pursuers, so such attention is considerably suspicious for her."

Virion seemed dejected from the admission. He loudly gasped and dramatically posed a hand on his heart.

"Such barbarians! A fine woman as yourself ignored by the gentlemen? How disappointing."

Lissa, that up until now was just laughing between herself or simply admiring the series of event, interjected: "I know right? Sully is so awesome and strong! She is always training or helping around the camp! How could they just ignore her!?"

"Shut it Lissa!" the woman in question screamed, flushing at the various compliments. "It's fine. Hell, it's perfect! If they ignore me, I can continue to train and become stronger! Courtship would just get in the way, and then they will ask me to stop!" she said.

Virion loudly scoffed: "If such companions would neglect your passion, your beautiful flame, then they are surely not worthy of your attention. I would never ask something similar to my lady."

"Be as it may." Frederick loudly interjected, preventing us from continuing this line of conversation: "I can hardly believe that you, Sir Virion, followed Sully who, if I may add, was on a horse, from Ylistol to all the way here on foot, only to start your courtship."

I nodded. That would need a lot of dedication to the cause. Was he really that interested?

"How did you find me anyway?" I heard Sully ask in a murmur. Virion decided to firstly address Frederick suspicious because I could hardly imagine such a character ignoring a woman's request.

"That is an understandable suspicion, sir, and you would happen to be right. While it was true that I could not ignore such a beauty, I heard that she was part of the elite force of the Kingdom of Ylisse, the Shepherds. I presume I am in the presence of other members?"

I stepped in: "You would be right sir Virion. I am Chrom, the Captain of the Shepherds. How we may help you?" I asked, smiling lightly.

Virion smiled back, and elegantly bowed. It was a textbook definition of a noble bow; polite, gracious and with a form that I would never obtain, not even in my dreams.

"How fortunate of me. Very well then. Captain Chrom, I humbly ask you to let me join your force. I, Virion The Archer of Archers, wish to serve you and your kingdom from the time to come. I assure you, my extraordinary archery skill would surely come handy in your group."

Well, that was unexpected. I took a moment to process the scene in front of me, and before I could start my answer, Frederick spoke:

"Ridiculous! As if the Prince would consider assume…"

"That is wonderful!" I cut him, smiling brightly at the man.

"Milord!" Frederick protested.

I ignored him in favor to lay amicably a hand on the Archer shoulder.

"Ylisse would be glad to have someone of your skill in their ranks. Of course, I would like a demonstration of your ability, but I'm sure there would be no problem, giving your certainty." I said.

Virion seemed a bit lost, probably from the quick acceptance.

"Well, that was easier than I would have expected. But if it is a testament to my skill that you wish, I would gladly give you one. Now, watch and marvel!" he exclaimed.

He then quickly and elegantly took the bow from his shoulders and flawlessly nock an arrow.

Not even a split of a second later, the arrow was flying, passing between Frederick and Lissa and hitting a trunk dead in the center.

All of this took less than two seconds. Which was extremely good, from the little understanding that I have of archery.

Before one of us could comment, Virion beckoned us to follow him to the trunk.

Lissa and I moved after him without hesitation, while Sully and Frederick took a moment to comply.

There, hit from the arrow, there was a little bug, pierced right in the center.

Well. That was even more impressive.

"Amazing!" Lissa breathed in wonder, clapping her hands together.

"Not bad, Ruf… Virion. That is a hell of a shot. If it wasn't a fluke, I mean." Sully complimented, whistling.

Frederick grunted in acknowledgment, and the bowman proudly said, "Feel free to marvel at my incredible skills. And if you suspect foul play, I would gladly accept another demonstration."

"It won't be necessary, Virion. I will gladly accept you in our team. Do you mind if I ask you why you decided to join us? You are not from Ylisse, we would know of such skills, and you clearly are not Regna Ferox."

Virion, our new Shepherd, nodded but for a brief moment. I could sense grief in him.

"I do not mind. This scrutiny is a must on the recruitment of an important group. Very well then, let's sit down and listen to my story."

We complied, Frederick simply standing still behind me, and waited for Viron to take the arrow back.

Once we were comfortable, Virion started his story.

Basically, he sailed from Valm, a country three weeks of distance on a ship to search for fortune to help his home, an island named Rosaline. Once arriving in Regna Ferox, he decided that he didn't particularly like its militaristic culture, and decided to come to Ylisse.

Frederick asked why he didn't try Plegia, Virion said that he wouldn't trust his life to a man who is called by everyone the Mad King, not if there is a better option.

I smiled at that confession, satisfied to hear that the consensus sided with our Kingdom.

Frederick was obviously still suspicious, but once I gave Virion my trust he decided to let the matter go.

I took a moment to ask myself why Virion did not tell us that he was of noble origins, but decide to discard the thought.

It was not important in the end.

Once everyone unofficially welcomed him to the group, we all decided to go to sleep.

Frederick tamed the fire, and Viron offered himself as the first to take guard duty.

I accepted, but Frederick insisted to let him keep an eye on him.

I gave Virion an apologetic look, which he waved off. Frederick took the gesture as a sign of affirmation and prepared himself for the duty.

Not long after that, I dozed off, sliding to the dream world.

* * *

"Milord! Milady!" a voice screamed, and in my nebulous mind took some time to recognize the unusually panicked voice of my retainer.

Everything was confusing and I could not understand why.

Wait, Frederick was shaking. Everything was shaking? An earhquac… GODS! WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Now completely awake, I jumped on my feet, gripping tightly Falchion, observing a scene of apocalypse in front of me.

The ground broke, eradicating the nature of the forest. Animals were running in panic, away from the debris of lava that were shot out like arrows in a ballista, spreading fire and devastation.

"Look up!" Sully screamed.

I instinctively followed her command, and I could not hide the horror at what I saw.

Circles, brimming of magic unknown to man were lightening the sky, colored with an ominous purple light.

Then something seemed to open inside of it, and various figures started falling from them.

People?

"We must check on them! Frederick, Sully, Lissa! Follow me!" I ordered. Then I noticed a silver-haired figure.

Right Virion was with us too.

"Virion, cover us with Sully and protect Lissa! It seems that destiny decided to give you your first mission tonight."

Virion expertly followed my command, and bowed. "Of course, captain. I assure you, nothing shall pass me and dare to hit you."

Satisfied, I started to run towards an exit of the forest, where I saw the group of people arrive from the sky. Hopefully, they would be alright.

Everyone followed me without question.

We struggled through some branches and roots, but it did not take more than a few minutes to find our way to a field just outside the forest.

Frederick was the first to arrive, saddled on Edmond, and was the first to stop to observe the scene in front of us.

"My Gods…" I heard him whisper. It was the first time that I heard that kind of sound from him, the mix of horror and fear that all the recruits made after their first battle.

It was unsettling hearing it from him.

I quickly step beside him, and once I looked at the scenery, I understood.

What occupied the field were not people. It was even in question if those things were even human in the first place.

The things were humanoid, covered in armor with a strange mask that covered their facial features. They did not move, but contort in inhuman ways, slowly walking towards… something.

They didn't seem to notice us.

"What the heck are those things?" Sully half-screamed, watching the… abominations moving.

"How disgusting…"

"Chrom, what do we do?"

Lissa's voice snapped me out of my horror-induced stupor, and ponder the question.

"Maintain the formation and close in on them. Prepare for hostilities." I ordered.

None of them verbally answered, but I knew I had their cooperation when they didn't hesitate to follow my steps towards the danger.

And danger it revealed to be.

Maybe it was our steps; maybe they just saw us, but the exact moment those things became aware of our presence, they screamed.

It was an inhuman sound; a scream that remembered the last breathe of a man, furious and hateful to the world at large.

The scream alerted all the monsters in the field.

Then they charged at us.

I flinched back, seeing the unnatural run. They were… slow, in a sense; they were more dragging their body and weapons than maintaining them.

"Stay together! Frederick, let's go!" I commanded.

"Yes Milord!"

The Great Knight then charged, easily surpassing me with the aid of his horse.

He was the first to make contact with those atrocities. Thrusting his silver spear, Frederick pierced the body of the enemy.

The things response was surprisingly faster than he would have expected, when he tried suddenly to deflect the spear with a board sword, but it was too late.

The spear pierced its gut, and from then, I clashed with the enemy. It was another swordsman, if he could be called that, and it was the first to try to attack.

Suddenly, the sword was trying to cut me in half, but I intercepted the hit with Falchion.

The impact rattled my bones, showing a surprising amount of strength, but I stood strong and forced the sword away.

Without giving the thing time to recompose, I sliced him. Being Falchion was an extremely powerful and ancient weapon, it easily cut through the rusted armour of the enemy, hitting flesh.

The hit was a mortal wound, so I started to turn towards the next enemy.

"Milord! It is not finished!" Frederick's panicked scream called my attention, and I spun again just in time to see the steel coming to my face.

I hastily blocked the sword, again, but this time the disbelief and the panic made me sloppy. The force of the impact made me stumble, and I utilized the opportunity to take distance from the monster, who took a lethal wound and was still fighting as if nothing happened.

"They disappear only with fatal wounds! Aim to kill!", my retainer screamed for all to hear.

I did not hear perfectly the response of the others since I was charging the monster, aiming to beheading it.

The spawn roared, maybe in defiance, maybe in rage, but didn't have the time to do anything but fall to the blow.

It dissolved in black mist.

"Monsters…" I summarized, steeling my nerves and turning to search for another foe.

A quick scan of the battlefield revealed that Sully, Virion, and Lissa where much closer to him than before, managing three of them.

The two of them were doing a great job, so I let them be.

Frederick was riding in circles around us, keeping a larger group, five in total, at bay.

I engaged the one closer to me.

I thrust Falchion and it easily pierced the body of my target, but I missed the heart of the spawn. The monster moved, trying to hurt me with his sword, be it was hindered but the legendary weapon.

It screamed, but I ignored it and tried to take Falchion back.

The task was more difficult than expected, and Falchion didn't come off completely.

Another of that inhuman roar caught my attention, and I noticed another beast charging at me, axe ready to fall and end my life.

As if I would die that easily.

I readied myself and positioned my shoulder protection to intercept the weapon.

"…er! NO!" a voice screamed from the sky.

I didn't have the chance to see the fall, but a masked man fell from the sky, with a silver, vaguely familiar sword seamlessly beheading the monster that was attacking me.

It dispersed without a scream.

I quickly utilized this opportunity to finish off my initial target with a powerful, more precise thrust.

This time, it faded.

I quickly glanced at the figure who just saved me.

I couldn't see much, but what I could see was the figure was clearly a male, judging by the short blue hair; and that he was injured. Gravely. The little I could see from him were clothes full of cuts and blood, parts of it even burned, showing blackened skin.

It was terrible.

"Thanks for the save friend." I said, diverting my eyes from him and back to the battle.

There were still a number of enemies, six in total, two of which were mindlessly charging towards Sully's group, and one with Frederick.

Well, it was.

"Th-ARGH!" he tried to reply, but he suddenly fell on one knee, in pain.

Damn it!

"Stay with me. I'll protect you." I said, blocking the attack of one sword wielder.

"I… no… help…" he spoke, slowly rising on his feet.

"You're injured!" I protested. He did not let me finish, and he flashed past me, expertly piercing the heart of the monster.

The action allowed me to see his face. It showed a visage tried to be concealed by a broken, dark blue mask. It showed a deep blue-eyed squeezed in pain. It showed pain and unbreakable will.

It showed me all I need to know for me to trust this man.

He took a deep breath, and slowly replied: "I can take care of… myself."

In response, I vanished another of those unknown enemies who were attacking us with a single, powerful strike that halved it.

"Stay close."

The masked man nodded.

The two of us shared a brief moment of stillness, waiting for the next foe to appear.

When nothing happened, I allowed myself to relax.

I searched for my comrades and I couldn't hide my relief when I noticed everyone walking towards us, all alive and well.

Scanning the group I noted that Sully and Frederick were simply widened from the battle, with only some dirt covering bits of their armour and face.

On the other hand, Virion suffered some minor cuts to his chest and his right arm.

Lissa, unscathed, was already starting to heal him.

"It is good to see you safe, Milord." Frederick said, dismounting Edmond.

"I had some difficulties, but my new friend here saved me. Lissa, if you would. Our new friend seems in worse condition than any of us." I replied.

Lissa looked up from Virion, and gasped loudly.

"What are you doing on your feet like that, mister? Sit!" She ordered, hurrying towards us.

The man gasped, his only visible eye widening and awkwardly sat on the ground.

"I… yes… sir…" he whispered. He then winced, the pain catching up to him, and let her start to work.

"Huh? Where the heck did he come from?" Sully asked, now on her own feet.

"It is indeed quite strange. As an archer, I pride myself on my sight and attention to details, and yet I shamefully did not see the arrival of a new ally." Virion noted.

The man seemed to relax, probably thanks to my sister's healing, and took his time to breath and recover his energy.

"You probably didn't notice because of the heat of the battle. You were covering us and protecting my sister. And for that, I thank you, Virion. It seems that your first mission was a complete success." I said, giving the stranger his time to recover himself.

"Indeed. In the few times I checked on Milady, I found you doing an… adequate job in protecting her. It seems that all your boastings of your abilities were not simply a way to worm your way in our ranks." Frederick… complimented in his own way.

I sighed and gave Virion an apologetic smile.

Noticing my wordless apology, Virion simply nodded back and gave a bow: "Of course. Empty boasts are not something I do. It is utterly disgraceful to fill ladies and comrades of falsehood."

"Gosh, what happened to you? You are covered with cuts and burns? Where you caught by the flames of the forest?" Lissa questioned, pouring more magic in the staff to try to speed up the healing, and catching the attention back to the man.

"Fire…? Oh…" The man glanced back at the forest. "Yes. It… caught me by surprise." He answered, observing my sister intently while it worked.

I coughed, catching the attention of the strange man.

"Yes, as it did with us. Now tell me, friend, what is your name? I do not want to call my rescuer mysterious stranger, after all."

The man quickly looked back at me.

Moments passed, and the stranger just stared at me, with the same intensity that gave to my sister. Probably, he was tired of the battle and the fire.

"My name… oh yes… name…" he whispered. He stretched his arms for a bit, judging his condition.

Deciding it was satisfactory, the (semi)masked man stood up. "You can call me Marth." He introduced himself.

I blinked.

"Marth? Like the heroic king of old?" I asked, particularly intrigued.

He nodded: "Yes. Father gave me that name because he was quite fond of those old stories. He hoped that, like him, I could live a life that could inspire and guide others to victory."

I could certainly relate to the father of this man. The name was fitting for such high hopes towards his own son.

"That is a beautiful name. I can see that you certainly live up to your name. Even heavily injured, you moved with extreme speed and precision. Your father must be proud of you." I commented.

The man, Marth, smiled softly, but the visible eyes reflected pain at the mention of his parents. It quickly faded as it arrived.

"I… I hope so." He admitted.

Ah, he was… how insensible of me. "I must apologize if I made you recall painful memories. My condolences for your loss."

Marth stopped, probably surprised from the sudden apologies and, thankfully, gave a low, short laugh.

It wasn't happy or mocking, but at least he reacted, "It's been years. I'm better than before… I loved him a lot. Still do." He admitted.

I could sense a lot of baggage in those statements. It was not my place to pry.

"I am sure he would be happy to hear it, Marth. Now that you are better, do you wish to join us to Ylisstol?"

The blue-haired man checked himself. His wardrobe was still tattered, and not all the injuries were completely healed.

"I must refuse. I have various missions to perform, and I have to meet all my comrades."

I nodded in understanding, and as I was giving him my farewell, Lissa was quick to interject, "But you are not completely healed! You can't go alone in this state! Come with us! I'll finish my healing and then you can go."

The man hesitated, and tried to deflect the Cleric, "Thank you Au… Milady, but I must start the investigation of these strange phenomena. I feel that this is only a prelude of what is coming, and I and my friends must regroup to make this happen."

"Are you and your friends expert on these events?" Frederick quickly demanded.

"Of course not." He quickly replied, glancing at Frederick.

"But this is not the first strange things we came across." he explained.

I smiled at the admission, "Well, then it is imperative that you come with us at Ylisstol. After all, if you are knowledgeable of the events to come, your guidance would be precious to the Kingdom of Ylisse. Do not worry, I'll make sure to let you go shortly after you finish to tell us everything you are willing to share."

Marth sighed, and shook his head. I could see the small, amused smile at my words.

What was so funny?

"I cannot convince you to let me go, can I? Very well. But as said, I'll be there for only a day." He accepted. He took a step forward but wavered. His knees gave in, and he fell on the ground with a gasp.

I hurriedly reached him to help him stand on his feet.

"You seem exhausted, friend. Maybe we should rest for a bit. The battle clearly took a lot to you."

Marth seemed to want to say something, but, deciphering his look, Lissa stopped him on his track: "Do not try to resist Mister Hero-King! You just fall for exhaustion!"

He closed his mouth.

"Cut the macho crap, Marth. We all saw the condition you were. We are not heartless enough to force you to walk with us. We are all tired from the battle anyway, and Lissa has to check us." Sully chastised.

"Indeed, my friend. Your will may be strong, but your body has been proven by hardship this night. Rest with us." Virion agreed.

"Frederick. Would you mind if Edmund took our new friends with him?" I asked.

"I…" the man tried to protest.

"Not at all Milord. Marth, will you need assistance on mounting him. Edmond may be violent on the battlefield, but I assure you, he is a rather calm individual." Frederick readily answered. I heard Sully snicker.

"… I can mount him. Thanks." Marth conceded.

Once on the horse, I heard Frederick saying, "While your timing is suspicious, I must thank you for your cooperation with Milord's request. However, I have to tell you that if your intention to the Kingdom and the Royal Family are of more sinister nature, I will personally deal with you."

I sighed, exasperated by my retainer's paranoia, and Lissa immediately went to chastise him.

"My name is Chrom, Captain of the Shepherds and, as you can guess, Prince of Ylisse. The girl who healed you is my little sister, Lissa." I introduced myself.

"Name's Sully, the best damn knight you will know. I'm a member of the Shepherds."

"I am he who strides large across history's greatest stage! I am Virion, new friend, the man who put arch in the word archer."

"And the grumpy old man who just threatened you is Frederick. Don't worry, he'll grow on you in time." Lissa concluded our round of introduction.

Marth looked around, maybe confused, maybe overwhelmed by everyones presence and friendliness.

"That is… quite a variegate group. Do you, by chance, have a tactician in your group?" he asked.

Surprised, I stared at the man. "That is quite a strange question friend. But no, we have nothing of the sort in our group."

The swordsman nodded, unfazed by the answer.

"Very well. It is a pleasure to meet all of you."

* * *

The sunlight hit us when we reached the enormous gate of the capital of Ylisse.

Strengthening my grip on my unresponsive companion, I walked towards the entrance, searching for a guard.

I found him in front of the gate.

"We're here Hachiman. We reached Ylisstol." I whispered.

My friends didn't answer, staring at the gate in the same, vacant manner which has stared since he stopped laughing.

I refused to let the tears flow. I couldn't. Not here. Not with him like this.

Once in front of the guard, I gave him Chrom's letter.

He quickly took the letter once he noticed the royal symbol, and promptly read it.

He looked back at us, nodded, and went to call another guard.

"Follow me." He ordered.

I complied.

Hachiman was still unresponsive.

The gatekeeper escorted us inside the city and entrusted us to another guard.

"You will go meet the Exalt now. Please, follow my steps." He said.

It was dawn, and the sun was barely starting to set, but in the city, already some people were walking around, starting their day.

"It's a beautiful city, don't you think so, Hachiman?" I asked him, praying to have a response from him.

My prayers were answered.

And Hachiman laughed loudly, like he just heard the funniest joke in the world.

**AN: Sup people, Taine is back, with the second chapter.**

**A completely Fire Emblem chapter. I hope to have nailed the personality of the characters, because damn, they are difficult to write.**

**They have a very different vocabulary from us, with Virion being the complete extreme of mine. So much unnecessary and complicate words…**

**Anyway, we start to have a glimpse of some changes that I made in Chrom, or, to be more precise, some backstory to his character that I came up with.**

**And there is some attempt of humor. Hope you like that.**

**Oh and Marth appears. Who played the game already know that something is off, good luck with the speculation. I will not confirm or deny anything you said. But if I do, it is probably a lie.**

**Next chapter we will come back to Robin and Hachiman, and it will be from Robin point of view. Mostly because I'm not sure if I can write a maddened Hachiman.**

**On a side note, in terms of Support Level, Hachiman and Robin didn't finish their C rank. Or, following the TH convention, have to pass their C+ Rank.**

**Hope you enjoy it, and that there aren't too many errors.**

**Reviews:**

** ArmantusCumPinnae: Yes and no. FE isn't a thing in his world, at least for this story, so he will base his knowledge in tropes. Also, chapter length**** may change between chapters, but I think generally they would be longer than 10K, except one, the next.**

** Guest: Glad you enjoy it. **

** nhehevnki: You don't need to know Awakening, or being a fan. I believe that I can do decent worldbuilding for this story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Luckily, Robin is level headed.**

In every other circumstance, the sight of Ylisstol could have been a wonder to behold, with its ample streets, busy people, and the general positivity that could be felt in the air.

Even though, to be honest, it was not like I could remember a city or village to compare with.

However, the point was that currently, I could not enjoy the scenery or properly admire the capital.

There were two reasons for this. The first was that I was currently walking towards a castle, (they are called that right?), where presumably, we would meet Lady Emmeryn, the elder sister of Chrom and Lissa.

The second and most important reason was my companion, Hachiman. He was… not good.

I glanced back at him, and to my sorrow, he was still unresponsive. He was simply looking ahead, at what precisely, I did not know, but his expression would constantly shift to a small, mocking smile at every object or person he laid his gaze on, to pure, merciless, anger that made me think he would attack the first thing that set him off.

Every now and then he would stop walking and start laughing and crying at the same time, mumbling something that I could not understand about some people, like this Komachi, who, from what I gathered, was his younger sister.

There were other names too, like his parents, but this girl was the most prominent.

This particular state would last only a minute before the cycle began anew.

And it hurt seeing him like that.

The Hachiman I met was unflappable. Despite being in a similar situation, lost and confused, he maintained his composure.

When he met the Shepherds, he took the initiative and asked for help, while the only thing I could do was simply watch other people for the first time that I could remember.

Even when the ground started ripping apart and the sky glowing, he did not lose his composure.

He broke only after the fight.

Was it because he was dying?

It could be, but it did not seem like that from the ramblings. I could not understand, but he seemed like he could not see the people he mentioned.

Like they were far away, or dead.

Did the Undead take them from him, and seeing them again resurfaced bad memories?

I could not stop the mix of frustration and envy stirring in me at the blasted word.

Memories.

The component that I lacked. I knew not a thing about me. Who was I?

Robin, my mind immediately supplied. But was I? Or was this just the first name it came to mind?

Was I really a Plegian, as this coat seemed to indicate? How old was I? Who were my parents? What did I do before all of this? What did I like to eat? Did I have friends at home? Where they nice like Chrom? Did I have someone special?

Those and more trivial questions plagued my mind. However, it did not matter. Because Hachiman was with me, and he would help me.

He promised. He confirmed. He would not escape- Right?

Looking at him, snorting derisively at a wooden house, I felt the fear rising.

W-would he? Leave me alone?

I breathed. In and out, like how I noticed Hachiman doing when he stopped crying.

Now was not the time.

I had an important person to meet. Chrom's sister, Princess Emmeryn, who will help us gather ourselves, and probably their father and mother too. I have to be at my best.

For Hachiman and me.

We were in front of the gate of the castle; another guard, this time female, stopped us. Strangely, this woman wore much less armor than her male counterpart did, and her face was completely visible.

"Halt! State your name and the reason for your presence."

Hachiman snorted loudly, and the guard glared at him. This only seemed to make him start laughing.

"My name is Robin, and he is Hachiman. We were sent here from Prince Chrom to request assistance to Lady Emmeryn. I have a letter signed by him to prove my claim."

Curiously, when I started answering, Hachiman's laughs suddenly stopped, his eyes focusing on me.

I could feel the gaze. Analysing me. Judging me.

I simply gripped his hand tighter, in an effort to make him relax. His gaze turned back to the guard.

"So it is you two? Maximus told us of your arrival, but he didn't mention that… no matter. Show me the letter and I will accompany you to the Exalt."

I nodded, briefly wondering what the Exalt could be. I assume that it was the title of the ruler of Ylisse. The letter was directed to Chrom's sister, but it would not be strange that she would be with her parents now.

Nevertheless, this was not a big concern.

Without releasing the hold from Hachiman's hand, I took the letter from one of my internal pockets. I noticed the guard tensing the moment my hand slipped under the coat, but the sight of the letter made her relax.

The reaction was the last piece that I needed to understand something new about the world. Plegia and Ylisse were not in a good relationship.

Sully's behavior was the first thing that tipped it off. The guards' hesitation when their gaze lingered on my coat was another.

The tension was just the final nail.

I assumed the notes I had were purely theoretical on my part, but this behavior opened a whole lot of new possibilities.

Were those tactics used? Did I help in a war? No, Hachiman said I was too young to be a general.

Did I wish to help my home country in the war? Was Plegia my home?

All the signs seem to indicate that this was the case.

"All seems in order." The young woman said. I could hear a trace of disappointment in her voice, and I quickly wondered just how bad was the relationship between the two nations if such a reaction was common in the military force of the reign.

Nevertheless, she professionally said, "Follow me. I will accompany you to the Exalt. I'll be watching."

I nodded and looked at Hachiman, shaking his arm to signal him to give a reaction, a confirmation.

Unfortunately, he did not seem to understand the gravity of the situation, as he wore an ugly scowl. He visibly rolled his eyes in mock exasperation and then started to give her a snarky remark.

Fortunately, our guide had already given us her back and was not watching.

"Hachiman." I said pleadingly.

He promptly stopped, but his glare remained stuck on him.

That was the best I could get from him for now, I feared.

"Let's go." I simply said, and much to my relief, he simply let me lead him.

We never let our hands go.

Following the girl was a silent affair, leading us to a large corridor in stone. Giant portraits of various men and women carpeted the walls.

It was strange how a lot of them had blue hair like Chrom. Another particular trait that stood out was that some of them displayed the same symbol on various parts of their body, probably a symbol of royalty.

The same symbol Chrom had on his naked shoulder.

A snicker interrupted my reflections, and I turned to Hachiman only to see him absorbed by the portraits.

He mumbled something about a thing called 'factory', and shook his head in amusement.

This little scene did not calm my nerves.

"Hachiman, what is so funny?" I decided to ask, trying to not catch the attention of our chaperone.

Hachiman turned to me, and I could see he was still smiling by the internal decoration of choice.

"They are all the same." He explained, and then pointed at the painting of an old man, "Old Chrom." He said, then pointing to another portrait. This was a female with short blue hair: "Female Chrom."

And so on. At each painting we passed, Hachiman started to add a small 'description';

"Mighty Chrom, Depressed Chrom, Gay Chrom, Erotic Chrom, Asshole Chrom…"

And with each and every new comment, Hachiman's voice grew louder, his tone more mocking and angry.

I stopped him, "Hachiman, those are his ancestor, of course, they have some similarities."

That explanation stopped him. Only for a brief moment though, because he then laughed loudly. It spread throughout the corridor echoing and causing the female guard to stop and glare at us.

"What is so funny!?" she asked, gritting her teeth.

Hachiman mouth snapped close, his eyes focusing on her, but he was still smiling.

"Your ruler is a…"

"I'm sorry! Hachiman is just shocked by our attack this night. He didn't recover." I cut him, bowing slightly at the girl before she decided to do something drastic.

"A bandit attack at night?" she asked skeptically.

Hachiman started to laugh again. Raising my voice to cover him, I explained: "They were not bandits. They are called Undead. Monsters with grey and decadent skin felt no pain and had no blood in them. We were ambushed a little after they started to fall from the sky."

The guard blinked. For a moment, I feared that she would not believe us, but I shook away the doubtful thought. Everyone must have seen the glowing sky.

There was no way to miss it, especially after the earthquake and the fire.

"So you met them too. It is a surprise you two survived a direct attack." The guard answered with a nod, putting my fear to rest.

"Magic." Hachiman sniped back.

"You are a mage? You did not seem like it."

Hachiman looked at her blankly, eyes vacant. He did not reply.

"No, he is not. I have a Thunder tome and a sword with me. I lent him the sword." I explained patiently.

I could feel Hachiman shivering at my words, memories still fresh of the danger he faced.

"Not much of a fighter uh.." the guard commented, observing our interaction.

"Not much of a civilized person, uh?" Hachiman shot back, focusing on our guide.

"Hachiman, please." I pleaded before the conversation could escalate further.

My companion complied, and let his focus wander off again.

The guard, on the other hand, did not let the attack go unpunished. Gripping her spear, she took a step towards us, shortly ignoring me and glaring at Hachiman.

"Now listen up you Plegian barbarian, just because our Prince decided to let you two here doesn't mean…"

"Oh, I'm sure he would be prideful of knowing that you pointed us that metal stick to protect your fragile ego from us like a caveman." He snapped back, grinning in sadistic pleasure.

The woman growled, almost ready to jump him, "How dare you…"

Unfortunately, Hachiman wasn't finished: "How dare…? Oh!" He exclaimed in clearly mock realization.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I meant to say cavewoman. How disrespectful of me. Hope you can forgive my insensibility." He said, bowing slightly.

The guard took another step but stopped.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly released her lance from her grip.

"Keep him at bay. Such disrespect in front of the Exalt is inexcusable. Also, I have to take your weapon from you."

I released a breath of relief, thankful of the knight's self-control in keeping her emotions in check.

"Of course. We wish to cause no trouble." I said, hastily taking out my Thunder tome and sword. I hesitated for a moment, feeling a loss at just giving few of my only possession, but it quickly passed as it came.

I could have them back anytime.

"I'm sure your ruler has at least…"

"Hachiman, stop. Please." I pleaded, interrupting another attack to the girl.

He stopped. I was thankful for his obedience. I did not know why he would listen to me, but I had no time to question it.

I had to hold myself together, for both of us.

"Everything seems in order." She said after checking my weapons. After that, she indicated a massive door a few steps away from us.

I blinking, questioning my inability to notice such a big portal right in front of me.

I blamed the stressful situation. I gave a last check at Hachiman, who was now focusing on the door with a tinge of curiosity. The sign of another attack of laughter was starting to show; the amused tinge, the mocking smile, and the vacant, disinterested eyes.

Maybe the woman noticed the same signs, or maybe she was just following the procedure of the castle. Whichever was the case; she turned to us again and said, "Wait here. I will announce you to the Exalt."

Without giving us the time to reply, she partially opened the door, making sure to cover us of its interior, and entered.

I turned to Hachiman and posed my other hand to his. Gripping tightly, I caught his attention.

"Hachiman, how are you? We are going to meet Chrom's family. Can you… relax?" I asked biting my lips.

Is this what you said at a shocked person? A man traumatized by the circumstances? What could I ask him?

He looked at me and opened his lips to speak. Nothing came out. Looking at him, I could see him try to say something.

He tried again, but at the last attempt, he could not speak at all.

"I...", he finally started to say. "I'll try...," he whispered in the end.

Relief flowed through me. Because that was enough.

"That is fine." I answered back.

That is when a new person, another girl with light blue hair and a breastplate bronze-colored, came through the door.

"You may enter." The new knight ordered us politely.

Nodding in acceptance, I strengthened my grip on Hachiman's hand for a moment.

I felt an immense amount of relief when he actually copied the gesture. With that hidden promise, we both entered the room.

Turns out the room was the throne room. I should have expected that judging by the big corridor that showed all the previous Exalts.

The room was incredibly big, obviously. A giant red carpet led us to the front of the thrones, two elaborate sculptures of stone covered by detailed signs whose significance were lost on me.

Big banners with what I guessed was the symbol of the kingdom were placed on the walls. The figure vaguely resembled a stylized sword with another symbol ordinate put at both sides of the swords. The symbol vaguely resembled a crouched dragon.

Light entered from six gigantic windows placed at the sides of the room, all of them represented various images from various points of Ylisse history, probably, and another window placed on the wall behind the thrones, within it stylized the image of two rulers, a male and a female.

All of this extreme detail surprised me, but the one thing that actually threw me off was that the thrones were unoccupied. Both of them.

Instead, at the center of the room, there was a single girl, a woman older than we, with long blonde hair.

My mind immediately flashed back to Lissa, and I could see that yes, the two of them were clearly sisters.

What caught my attention were two things; first, was her revealed forehead, which had the same birthmark that Chrom exposed to his shoulder.

The second was the emotion that transpired from her eyes. It resembled the kindness and concern of her younger brother, but it was colder. Tempered. Contained.

"Welcome to the castle of Ylisse, travelers. My name is Emmeryn, the Exalt of this wonderful reign. You must be Lady Robin and Sir Hachiman." she asked.

Stupefied by the revelation (she was the Exalt? What about her parents?), my eyes observed in astonishment the admittedly beautiful woman in front of me.

This didn't last long, and I decided to show deference to her in spite of Lissa's advice.

I instinctively bowed to her, hoping this was the correct way to do so (There was a correct way. I was sure of that.) and hastily answered, "Y-yes your highness. My name is Robin. It is an honor for you to receive us."

I waited for a moment for my companion to follow my lead, but nothing came.

In a panic, I glanced back but the only thing I saw was concerning; he was just observing the Exalt. He did not bow. He did not answer.

Signaling him with our connected hands to react, he looked at me.

"Hikigaya Hachiman." He briefly said. He did not bow like me, but he just tilted his head, in a manner that did not imply respect, but common courtesy.

"An unusual name." Lady Emmeryn commented, ignoring, or maybe not caring, of the disrespect that my companion just gave.

"May you be from the continent of Valm, the reign of Chon'sin?" She asked kindly.

"Sounds backward. I don't." He replied irritated. His attention was now on the queen, observing her with a trace of interest.

I decided to take it as a win. At least he was not laughing at her face.

"I see. You may raise your head, Lady Robin. May I ask you where you came from, Sir Hikigaya?" the Exalt questioned politely, seemingly unfazed by Hachiman's brutal manner of speech.

I obeyed and raised my head, hesitantly looking back at her.

"Japan." He responded curtly.

I bit my lip. This conversation was going relatively well so far, but I fear that this would not last long.

"I am sorry to say that I never heard of this country." The blonde ruler commented, asking an unspoken question.

This actually surprised me. I lacked memories, so it was understandable that I did not know of this Japan. However, a ruler should know of the major political forces of the world.

Until now, Lady Emmeryn appeared like a competent Exalt, so it was strange that she did not know of it.

"You wouldn't. Your country would not be so underdeveloped if you knew." Hachiman said, and I physically flinched back at the harsh statement.

I could tell that there was no real malice in the phrase, he simply was stating a fact, but others couldn't. Hachiman was not an approachable person on sight.

I heard some of the guards gasp at his words, while the two guards that we met openly glared at us.

Lady Emmeryn gaze sharpened, but she did not lose her composure or her politeness, "And what would you mean by that?"

Hachiman, either ignorant or uncaring of the reaction his words caused, shrugged "A lot. We trashed pointy things hundreds of years ago for example, or Kings and Emperors are only names without meaning and a lot of other things." he replied.

He grimaced, visibly gritting his teeth, and I feared another outburst.

My fear where confirmed a moment later, when he started to growl and shake in agitation.

"Then again, we do not have fucking magic, and we DO not have GOD DAMN ZOMBIES FALLING FR…"

"Hachiman, calm down! Breath!" I quickly interjected, shaking his arm. Luckily, his mouth snapped closed, and an audible *click* resounded in the entire room.

Hachiman closed his eyes and breathed.

Looking around I saw the guards present in the room had their weapons ready to attack us.

The Exalt made a gesture, and, hesitantly, they returned their weapons back.

"I am sorry, Lady Emmeryn. My companion was shaken by the Undead attack this night. We had to fight a group by ourselves, and he did not have prior combat experience. Adding the strange enemies made him…like this."

I explained, bowing my head in shame.

Lady Emmeryn smiled kindly and nodded, "I see. Judging by the letter my brother sent me, you two were stripped away from home. I understand his agitation, you may relax." She said, soothing.

I breathed in relief and noticed Hachiman started to move again.

A gentle stroke from our interconnected hands prevented another scene.

"It is true. We are very grateful for C… Lord Chrom and Lady Lissa's assistance."

A little laugh escaped her from my little misstep, and Lady Emmeryn relaxed.

"It is no burden for us. The castle is big, and we have lots of room. Helping you gather yourselves is no stain for us. Chrom is an excellent judge of character, and I believe that you would do no harm to the kingdom or me. But something you said caught my attention."

She walked towards us, shortening the distance between the three of us. The message was clear to everyone. A sign of trust.

Unfortunately, Hachiman was not in the right state of mind to pick up those clues.

He glared at her, "What do you want?" he asked menacingly.

Unfazed, the Exalt looked at me, "We received a lot of reports in the span of a few hours talking about those monsters assaulting my land. You called it Zombie, or Undead. Are you two perhaps familiar with them?" she asked.

I sighed in relief. That was a reasonable question, and she did not accuse us as culprits.

"I do not remember ever facing such a foe before this night. I have no more information on the origins of them than anyone attacked by them could tell you." I answered honestly.

"You can't remember anything." Hachiman commented dispassionately in a bored tone.

I bit my lips at the comment. Why would he say that? For a moment, she saw surprise from the Exalt, quickly followed by a similar concern that reminded me of the two younger siblings.

Preventing her from saying anything, I described the monsters, "The Undead are relatively slow. They do not seem to have intelligence and lack a sense of pain or blood. For those two reasons, the only way to kill them is a mortal blow." I started to describe.

Lady Emmeryn listened carefully, and glanced back at one older guard, who nodded back;

"Their lack of intelligence means that they will concentrate on whoever hit them last and follow whomever is closer to them. The optimal methods to deal quickly with them is decapitation and impalement, but sufficient damage from a magic attack will result in their end. This leads me to presume that a certain amount of damage done with any kind of weapon will lead to the same result, but this method is untested." I explained mechanically, letting my instincts take control over me.

Lady Emmeryn blinked and stood in silence for some moments. Was she stunned? Was she questioning my story? I could not tell.

Then she nodded, and said, "This is… extremely helpful, Lady Robin. While it is a shame that you could not enlighten us to the origins of those… Undead, I suppose, your analysis will be referred to by our military corps. Your assistance to Ylisstol is greatly appreciated."

She bowed slightly, and I almost panicked right then and there,

"I-It is no…"

"What, do you guys not have necromancers?" The irritated voice of my male companion interrupted me.

I stopped. Emmeryn's attention turned to him, "I fear the name is new to me, Sir Hikigaya."

Hachiman snorted and rolled his eyes, "Necromancers. Dark Mages. People who research a way to resurrect the dead. I don't know what the hell you call them." He explained slowly, almost as if he was talking to a child.

Lady Emmeryn focused on the new information, "While it is true that some hexes and curses utilize the life forces of the people, Dark Mages did not have those abilities."

"What a shitty world. Of course, they don't." Hachiman replied sarcastically, prompting the Exalt to raise her eyebrows in slight curiosity.

Hachiman sighed loudly and said,

"What stopped them? They could utilize the remnants of a dead person, or I don't know, the nature of life force? I am no mage, the hell should I know?"

The Exalt paused. She stopped talking for an entire minute, possibly elaborating this new set of information presented to her. Unfortunately, whatever she was thinking about, she did not like it, judging from the frown that slowly occupied her elegant visage.

"Such a massive scale though… who could have such power…" she mumbled.

I doubt this was intentioned to be heard by anyone, but the proximity made us capable of understanding her concerns.

"Are you dumb?" Hachiman snapped at her, causing her attention to fall newly on us.

"If one person can't do that, what about two? Or three? Or a group? Really, that is basic." He said in irritation, shaking his head.

Silence followed the statement.

"Plegia." Someone spat, venom dripping from the tone.

I blanched. Could it be? Could Plegia really do something similar? Disturb the dead as an army against another country?

However, my panicked thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a commanding voice, who harshly snapped at the person who dared to voice the thought.

"Phila!" Lady Emmeryn said in anger, surprising me.

Hachiman just arched an eyebrow at the sudden change of tone.

The woman, Phila, the same person who opened the doors to us and presented the Exalt, paled for a moment, but she quickly replied,

"I am sorry Your Majesty, but if what the boy said was true then…"

"I will not accept such baseless accusation. We have no proof of this, and jumping to conclusions and embark on a war for a suspect is exactly what I did not want to do after all this time."

The furious reply stopped the woman from answering back. She respectfully bowed and said, "Of course Milady. Forgive my haste."

Once she said that she eyed Hachiman suspiciously.

"But I must say, it is strange that a man who claims to know nothing of magic feed us of all this useful information about an art unknown to us." She said.

I stiffened and gripped Hachiman hands stronger. Was she accusing him of…

"It is quite strange." The Exalt agreed with a small sign with her head.

"Sir Hachiman, may I ask you where you came in possession of such information?" she gently asked.

"N-no! He isn't trying anything I swear!" I screamed, placing myself between Hachiman and the Exalt.

They could not think that! He would not! Why would he? This makes no sense! He didn't know them!

"He just…" I tried to justify, but nothing came to me. Nothing that could help him, because how did he know all of this? I could not find a believable explanation, and that makes me want to cry.

Because I knew that he would not do something like purposefully start a war.

"Legends."

I stopped.

All the attention was on my companion, who was walking towards the Exalt. But he wasn't.

His eyes were lost, his pupils dilated, seeing something beyond her. Beyond us.

"Do you re-"

"Stories." His voice continued.

"Tales." He gritted his teeth, and something seemed to snap in him.

"Escapism, fantasy, bullshit, LIES, FAKES!" He screamed.

"Every single thing I said was SUPPOSED to be FAKE! Some BULLSHIT STORY! ENTERTAINMENT!" He stomped his feet to the ground. I tried to calm him.

I started to shake his arm, massaging his shoulder or his hands.

Nothing worked.

"But guess WHAT? I am in this SHITHOLE with fucking MAGIC AND SWORDS! SWORDS! Who uses that crap anymore?" He continued to vent looking around in anger, accusing everyone as the cause of his predicament.

And then…

"**I believe you**." A powerful voice said.

I blinked, and Hachiman froze. He was panting, and his attention was solely on the calm voice that stopped his ranting and stopped him.

"And I believe I can help you." Lady Emmeryn added with a small, kind smile.

"Bullshit." Hachiman immediately replied.

The Exalt did not falter at the aggression. I looked around, and I saw that every knight was at attention.

The voice that the Exalt used before, I realized, was enchanted in some way, to create such a reaction.

"From time to time, in the history of Ylisse, some strange people come to us. They tell us of different lands, strange races, and mysterious products. Some of them are fake. Some of them seem true. We call the latter Outrealmer." The woman told us.

That got all our attention. Hachiman stepped right in front of her.

"Talk." He ordered, locking his crazed eyes on hers.

I gulped. Every pretense of respect was off the table. I was surprised that nobody moved to subdue him.

Lady Emmeryn took her time to inhale and breath, before continuing her explanation, "Some of them guided us to strange phenomenons, random gates that open in various times, the Outrealms Gates. Our historian recorded the locations of those."

Hachiman did not need to hear anything else.

He gave her his back and, without paying any kind of salute or respect, he ran.

"H-Hachiman wai-" I tried to stop him. He did not hear me. He just took off to somewhere.

I really wanted to follow him, but I reigned my instincts.

I looked back at the Exalt, then at the guards. Some of them were following with their gazes the movement of my companion, but nobody tried to stop him.

The blonde Exalt breathed out in what could only describe as a relief, "Such an intense gaze." She commented, only to me to hear.

"And yet, so desperate. I never foresaw to actually met a rare figure like this. An Outrealmer." She mumbled.

Noticing my gaze on her, she quickly recomposed herself.

"I see you are still here Lady Robin. Forgive my distraction." She said, smiling calmly.

"I-I, n-no. It is I that have to ask forgiveness for my companion. H-he…"

"He is lost. From his ramblings, it is clear that his presence here was not voluntary. That was clear from the letter that my brother addressed to me. How much lost, was still a surprise." She explained, nodding in acceptance.

I nodded back.

"In his haste, he did not completely hear me. Outrealmers are people of myths on par of figures like our First Exalt and the Hero-King. Little is known of them, but their existence is proven. Nevertheless, such figures are rare. The last one who openly contacted Ylisse is recorded over 200 years ago. His name was not recorded but we know of the existence of his land, Cornelia."

I nodded in understanding. The message was clear.

A way home for him was possible, but it would be extremely difficult for him to find. And what is he searching is probably not here.

"I understand, Lady Emmeryn. I… must go." I said, bowing.

"I understand. Go and make your friend come to his senses. We have much to discuss and do not worry, while you are here, nothing will happen to you. You have my promise."

I tried to smile to convey my gratitude. It was more difficult than I expected. It was not that I was not happy for the lenience.

But I could not feel relief if Hachiman was still like that.

With a last bow, I took some steps back before finally give my back to the ruler.

I calmly walked towards the door.

"Come, Phila. We have much to discuss, this… Undead threat. Lady Robin and Sir Hikigaya gave us much to think and report about."

This was the last thing I heard when the door closed behind me.

Then, I started to run.

* * *

"How dare he! Such a barbarian should not be allowed inside the castle! What were the guards thinking?" I heard a female, high-pitched voice, grumble.

Reaching a turn, I saw two girls that looked to be around my age. One of them, with long brown hair, was with her back on the wall, sitting in clear shock.

She wore a pinkish breastplate and arms armor in a similar fashion of most of the female guards I met or noticed up until now. Under that, she wore a cloth of a darker shade closer to violet that finished in a skirt.

"Sumia, dear are you, all right? Did that brute do anything to you?" the same voice asked.

This girl was kneeled in front of her, trying to calm her from what looked like a panic attack. She wore a cloth of similar pink color of the first girl, but it alternated straps of white on her breast and her arms.

On her legs, she had trousers of the same shade of pink, interrupted by two brown, high boots.

Her blonde hairstyle was the most eye-catching thing on sight, and she wore two white ribbons at both sides of her head.

She had a parasol with her.

"I-I am fine Maribelle! He did not do anything e-extreme. He j-just… questioned me. He was searching for the library." The girl (Sumia?) quietly answered, trying to stand up.

"Well, there sure are better ways of doing so than grabbing a lady he just met in such a forceful way, like he was possessed." The blonde girl huffed, helping her.

"T-thank you." The knight whispered.

I pondered stopping for a moment and asking directions from them. Hachiman had to be minutes ahead of me, and I did not know where the royal library is.

Those girls may help me.

Preparing myself, I breathed in and out.

"Excuse me?" I called out the duo.

The two reacted in a very different manner. The girl who just got up jumped, while the blonde woman simply turned towards us.

When they faced me, the knight's eyes widened, and she took a step back.

"Good morning. How may we help you?" The blonde noblewoman asked politely.

I gave a hesitant smile and bowed awkwardly, still unsure of how to deal with high-class nobility without seeming disrespectful.

Despite the situation with Hachiman, I could not simply be rude to everyone. We were guests and depended on the perception of the Exalt and the people of the castle had of us.

Being rude will only backfire in the end.

"Good morning, Milady." I answered back, mentally thinking on how to go with the conversation.

"I was passing by and noticed the situation. Is everything alright?" I settled to ask, unsure of how to approach the topic without seeming inconsiderate.

"E-everything is fine." The girl, Sumia, answered quickly, bowing as awkwardly as I do. She was even more nervous than I was.

"It is not." The other girl replied with a tinge of anger. "Dear Sumia here was assaulted by a peasant. The nerve of him! Why, if he tried the same thing to me I would have whacked him with my parasol! You should have reacted dear!" The blonde-haired woman severely reprimand.

Shaking nervously her head, the knight quietly said: "I-I was not assaulted, Maribelle. This man just… asked me directions. F-for the library."

I internally gave a grimace at the short tale. Probably Hachiman took the first person to ask for indications.

If he even asked.

"Sumia, there is no need to defend that barbarian. His actions were inexcusable to you. To just grab a fine lady like that. And in his attire, nonetheless! What was he wearing, nightwear?" the lady, Maribelle, rambled disappointed.

I decided to interject: "Hachiman had a… rough day. I have to ask you to forgive him for his actions and wear. The Undead really shocked him." I tried to explain.

The two girls turned their attention to me, the knight surprised by my words and the latter seemed… intrigued? Maybe?

"I see. Even so, he should not react this extremely, but I suppose that a peasant cannot have the education of a noble. I am surprised a fine girl like yourself bothered with such a rude man." The noble said.

I subdued the surge of anger that assaulted me at her words. She did not know. She did not know anything. Let the matter go.

"He is not like that. He is gentle. He saved me yesterday." I told them, unconsciously defending him.

I immediately bit my lip in frustration. That was not important.

"H-he did?" the shy girl asked in wonder, her eyes shining with excitement.

"That is surprising." Lady Maribelle commented.

"We both found ourselves abandoned on a field a day from there. He was the one to find me and guide us. We found people and they directed us here." I found myself telling them.

Dame Sumia clapped her hands enthusiastically, "Goodness, this is wonderful and romantic!" She said excitedly.

I blinked. Romantic would not be the expression I would use, but I could see where she was coming from.

"What nonsense, Sumia. It must have been terrible! More importantly, are you well?" The noble asked in genuine concern.

"We are. We were lucky enough to find Chrom, Lissa, and Sir Frederick. They checked on us and told us to meet the Exalt. Chrom gave us a letter to meet her." I explained quickly, starting to lose my patience.

I was wasting time, Hachiman was in the library. I just needed to ask them where it was.

Unfortunately, mentioning Chrom and his group captured her attention.

"You met dear Lissa? I demand to know how she fares! Is she good? Injured? Did she eat well?" Lady Maribelle started to ask quickly, catching me off guard.

"W-what about the C-Captain?" Sir Sumia timidly asked.

I grimaced, but calmly answered, "When we met them they were fine. No signs of injuries of battle and Sir Frederick was taking good care of them. A bit much, but it should be expected."

"There is no such thing as 'too much' when it concerns Lissa's health." The blonde noble strongly protested.

I could sympathize. There was no 'too fast' in my situation as well. I had to go. Now.

"I understand, but Chrom and Frederick seem more than capable of protecting her. Now, may I ask you where the library is? I need to find my companion." I finally said, cutting the conversation short.

None of the two seemed to mind.

"Right! From here the third corridor to your left!" The armor-wearing girl instructed with surprising conviction, smiling gently.

"I suppose you are right. Go and teach him some manners." Lady Maribelle replied.

"Thank you. Good day." I waved off with a formal, if stiff, awkward bow.

Then I sprinted towards the library, hearing a longing sigh from behind me.

* * *

Reaching the library was an easy feat thanks to Dame Sumia's indications.

"Damn it! Damnitdamnitdanmit!"

It was expected that Hachiman would be already there. What was not expected, was that he was already equipped with a group of books.

I watched how Hachiman threw a book against the wall in rage under the severe scrutiny of a redheaded woman, a mage judging by the black vest and the big pointed hat.

"I must ask you to stop this aggressive behavior at once, sir. I understand that the lack of the necessary knowledge may be frustrating but…"

"Shut it woman! You don't understand shit about this." My companion stopped her with a growl.

He then proceeded to throw another book at the wall in frustration.

The woman's expression did not change much except for a slight grimace.

"Irritating. The subject is prone to extreme aggressive and unreasonable behavior. The wide, reddened eyes and the constant puffing seems to show a lack of sleep, and direct confrontation resulted in a shortage of patience towards the world around him. He must be living through what I believe is called a mental breakdown." The woman said to herself, preceding to inscribe something on a book in her hands.

Hachiman, fortunately for the woman, did not hear or care about that consideration.

"Now, what could cause such an extreme reaction from a human? This matter requires a thorough investigation. Sir, may…"

I did not know what was wrong with her but that is when I decided to step in and interrupt… whatever was happening.

"Hachiman." I called out, prompting the duo to turn their attention to me.

Seeing me, my companion did not quite calm down but at least stopped throwing the books at the wall.

"Robin… perfect. Come here. I can't read shit. Because of course, the written language is different from the one at home. But the spoken one is the same. What the fuck is wrong with this world?" He said, turning towards me with a random record in hand.

I glanced back at the redhead mage, but she did not move, and simply observed our interaction, and I caught her writing something on her notes.

"Hachiman, listen I talked more with Lady Emmeryn…" I started to say, but Hachiman would not hear.

"Forget her." He snapped back at me, scowling deeply. "Who cares about that psychopath! Why are blonde people crazy anyway?" He grumbled.

Where did that come from?

"Wait Hachiman, listen…" I tried again, only to be stopped again by him.

"I can't wait, Robin! I need to go back! I have school to finish! A club to attend! Yukinoshita to take down a peg, Yuigahama to make fun of, Saika to go out with! Komachi needs me to protect her from disgusting insects and professor Hiratsuka will kill me if I skip another day of school! I have to go back!" He screamed back, grabbing my hand and forcibly guiding me to a table.

"Hachiman, look…" I tried again, only to be interrupted by him.

He slammed the book on the table, silencing me, and opened it to a random page.

"Read." He ordered.

I glanced at the page. I could sort of understand it, but the grammar was all over the place. Was it an old way of writing? Probably.

It was an introduction to the Outrealm gates, or better, theories of their compositions. Nothing useful for sure.

I tried again to talk to him, calling him, "Hachiman I understand that you want to go ho-…" but of course, even this attempt was interrupted by him.

"No, you god damn don't understand!" he said, tightening his grip on my hands and looking back furiously.

I did not know what it hurt more.

"Nobody can. Do you know what it feels to wake up in a random place when the last thing I remember is going to sleep in my bed?"

I do.

"Do you know how lost I felt when I found three idiots with armor and horse in the middle of the fucking woods, hoping for an answer to your predicament only to receive half-assed indications?"

I do.

"Do you know how scary was when fucking Zombie rained from the sky with fire and the groundbreaking when the last thing you worried the day before was the summer homework?"

I do.

I felt something wet flowing on my cheeks.

"Of course you don't. Nobody does! So shut up and hel- agh!" He tried to say when a loud sound of flesh on flesh echoed in the library.

He fell on the floor, maybe in surprise, maybe in pain. I did not know. It did not matter.

"I do!" I sobbed loudly.

Hachiman stared, touching his slapped cheek in a daze.

"I do." I repeated, falling on my knees in front of him. "Everything is confusing and I don't know what to do." I started to sob.

"A-and you don't know where you are, where home is, if home exists and, and…" I could not continue talking.

I was crying.

"A-and you can't go back! Y-you can't because of two hundred years! A-and I'll be a-alone! I don't want to be alone Hachiman!" I tried to explain, but I doubt that I could say anything coherent anymore.

Therefore, I did the only thing I could think of. Throwing myself at him and hugging him.

A hug to not let him go.

"B-but I have to…" he weakly tried to say.

"Please don't go away! I'll help you, I swear. T-there must be other gates!" I tried again, but nothing good came out.

"But K-Komachi, a-and mom and dad…" he countered.

But I did not answer, because I was too lost in my tears and my sobbing to be able to understand him.

It was not half a second later that he embraced me and started to cry too.

Therefore, we embraced each other to cry our hearts out. We tried various time to say something to the other, but many times the only things that came out were incoherent sobbing and half-formed words.

I did not know how much time we passed in this position, but, eventually, we both stopped.

"Okay…" He murmured. "Okay." He repeated, this time more clearly. "I think I needed that. Thanks, Robin."

I sniffed. "Bastard." I said.

He chuckled, his breath touching my ears. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. W-what about the gates? What about two hundred years?" He asked quietly.

"The last recorded gate in Ylisstol was two hundred years ago. We need to search for them." I muttered onto his shoulder, refusing to let the hug finish.

He sobbed but kept from starting another waterfall. Maybe he finished his tears like me.

"Ok. Ok… I can work with that." He said.

I nodded and gripped him tighter.

"I-I think I need to make some excuses. And change my clothes. And armor, I guess." He rambled, sobbing in between.

"…Yeah." I simply said.

We stood like this, in complete silence, letting our emotions quell.

Unfortunately, that is when we noticed that we were not alone.

"…after a long display of overwhelming emotions that lasted approximately twelve hourglasses and a third, the two subjects seem to have reached a state of mental balance…"

Hachiman's head crashed on my neck, and let out a long, suffering whine.

I was very quick to follow his example and hoped that the girl will just leave us alone in our shame.

**A.N: Hello there, Taine is back.**

**Sorry for the wait. Here is the chapter. I thought it would be longer than this, but I have decided to halve it. Next chapter is the last one of the prologue, and then the story officially started**

**I wrote a couple of times the first part. The HHHH (Hikigaya Hachiman Hysteria Hour) was difficult, and while I am satisfied with the result, I can see a lot of problems arising from this. He is OOC, but that was kind of the point. Not everyone may share my vision.**

**I hope that the Fire emblem side was good and satisfying. Emmeryn may seem strange, but she is more the Exalt Emmeryn more than Big Sis Emmeryn in this chapter, so if it come out colder than it should be, that is good.**

**With this, I officially ended the Hachiman rollercoaster of emotion.**

**God, I hope this is decent. I really do not know if this is emotional or just unnecessary dramatic.**

**If you have questions or criticism, do not hesitate to share.**

**See you next time.**

**Reviews:**

** Dark durian: Things will change, but it will be a slow process.**

** Wonderment: Yes.**

** Itsuki Minami1: I have corrected the errors. Thanks for pointing out.**

** LookItsADoggy: this chapter has been frustrating to write, and I am unsure on how it could be received. I took a lot of liberties with Hachiman here, seeing how the novel did not put him in this kind of situation. It should be cringy, that is the pint of the chapter, but I just hope it isn't pointlessly dramatic. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hikigaya Hachiman's otherworldly fantasy adventure just started, as expected.**

The TV was right.

An emotional moment does wonders to the mental stability of a person. This is what I learned today in this new world.

Thinking back on it, it should have been expected. After all, all drama shows come from personal experience, even if heavily distorted by sick minds that water down said experience for the enjoyment of the brainless masses.

So it should not be a surprise that, after all the crying, the hugging, and the screaming, I actually felt in control of my emotions since... the attack.

I was also exhausted, but that was obvious and easily solvable.

What the TV didn't tell me instead was that the embarrassment of behaving like a spoiled child against your better judgment and the will to bury yourself for your unjustified selfishness didn't get overshadowed by the feeling of 'friendship' and 'comradely' so that I could conveniently continue to see my 'friend' as nothing happened.

Because that wasn't true!

I couldn't see Robin's face without remembering what a whiny bitch I was during my mental lapse and what a special type of asshole I was to her and everyone I met up until now in the castle.

In conclusion, the TV lied to me and I should not have placed my hopes in drama tropes, as expected.

Father, mother, as always you were right about my education. Forgive this prodigal son; I swear I will never doubt your love for me.

Even if it is clear you do love Komachi more. That is fine, I love her more than you two combined too.

The thought of my family made me stop for a bit.

Of course, even with all of that put out; it wasn't like I magically didn't miss home yet. I just had a better grasp of my emotions now that I accepted that, yes, I was now in a medieval fantasy world and no, I will not go home anytime soon.

I started to wear my new robes again, trying to organize for the umpteenth time my thoughts on the matter.

On one hand, no home, no family and club mates, no form of technology, no Vita-chan and worst of all, no Saika and no Max Coffee.

On the bright side: fucking magic™, I had Robin with me, an idea of what to do, the help of the royals of the kingdom I fell into (hopefully) and a wonderful adventure of a lifetime that would make the fatso cry in envy and my cute Komachi's eyes bright in wonder.

Not a good exchange. Nothing could easily replace what I lost (for now, Hachiman, for now.), but not bad either. I could have been alone, without support and no idea of where I was or what to do. Alternatively, killed by the Undead. That was a possibility too.

I shivered at the reminder of those things, and quickly decided to think about anything else.

Like the problem at hand that I was trying to conveniently ignore with this rambling.

How do I face Robin now?

I turned around, now dressed with my new grab, to look at the albino in question; she was in the room, reading her diary absentmindedly, politely ignoring the male in the shared space that was changing into something that isn't pyjamas.

After our… episode in the library under the watch of a redhead mage more tactless than every single shounen protagonist I ever read, the woman in question, Miriel, accompanied us to our room to collect ourselves and rest.

After having thanked us for the 'useful data about human behavior under stressful circumstances', of course. Tactless, as said.

I wasn't mad tough. Ok, I was a bit angry, but not too much. She fit the stereotype of a dedicated student without a hunch of social interaction to a T, so I knew she didn't mean anything malicious with it.

At least she was polite with it, and quickly forgave my outburst in the library after I tried to excuse myself for the books and the harsh words.

Anyway, after that, Robin and I didn't talk much. We simply collapsed on the bed and slept. It was only after some hours that a servant woke us up with our breakfast/lunch and new clothes for me.

Surprisingly, the butler gave Robin back her weapons: the Thunder Tome and the sword.

The same sword I used to kill the Undead.

I quickly prevented a panic attack; in and out, Hachiman. Breath in and out.

My heavy breathing must have tipped-off Robin that I had finished changing because she quickly turned towards me.

She smiled.

"Hey, Hachiman, I see you finished changing. It is good to see you in something different than nightwear." She commented lightly.

I didn't answer, still unsure of how to talk to her.

Robin coughed awkwardly at the silence that followed: "You look… good…", she said hesitantly, trying to cover the general awkwardness of the situation.

I rolled my eyes at the input, because really, even without a mirror in the room, I knew that I didn't 'look good'. Try ridiculous.

The clothes that I was wearing were simple: a dark blue tunic of a material that I did not know, but surely itched a lot and skin-tight black trousers and boots.

What was surprising was the presence of a set of light armour: a breastplate, arm armour, and leg armour. Overall, it was easy to wear but a bit heavy to walk around. Not much, but I was sure I could not walk for a prolonged amount of time with this thing on.

I didn't get any weapon, surprisingly. After they gave back Robin's hers, which was incredibly stupid in my opinion, and gifted me the armour, a weapon would be the logical next step.

Not that I could use any kind of weapon. So maybe they were smart?

No, I was ignoring the issue again, and I just monologued all this time without answering Robin.

I made to answer her at the cost of seeming retarded, but it is at that moment that someone knocked.

I blinked, unsure of how to feel at the sudden interruption.

"They're knocking." I said lamely instead.

Robin blinked, surprised. She then tilted her head. "They… did." She confirmed. And with that, she went to open the door.

What I saw was a big, massive heavy armour with orange stripes, with an equally big shield and a pointy thing behind it that I supposed was a lance.

And a face.

There was a face obviously.

"Nobody is here?" Robin said, frowning in confusion.

The hell? Was this her idea of a joke? How cruel of you Robin, I did not expect that from you. Even if it is funny. I mean, how could anyone miss that massive, walking armour?

"Yes sir? Are we needed for something?" I instead asked at the man, approaching the door. From the face, he seemed to be around my age.

The man's head snapped to me, seemingly surprised by the question. What was more curious was Robin's reaction.

She turned to me, honestly confused by the question, and said: "Hachiman who are you-hyaaa!" She suddenly screamed, jumping back like she was scared.

The sudden jump made her impact against me, cutting off my air. I stumbled back, almost losing my balance, but the knight suddenly went behind us, stopping our fall.

*Bang*

I winced in pain. God damn, that armour was hard! I supposed it was good for taking a hit but, shit, it hurts.

"A-are you all right?" The man asked in clear worry.

I grunted and nodded, nursing my head, checking if something was wrong.

"O-oh, yes! I.. didn't see you." Robin said, bowing apologetically.

Ouch! That must sting! This is unnecessary cruel of you Robin. I'm fine, this sketch dissipated the awkwardness. No need to continue the gag.

He just smiled awkwardly and nodded in acceptance.

I feel you, buddy. I feel your pain.

"I, uh, was asked to see if you two were ready. The Exalt wanted to meet you two. I uh, have to accompany you two. Please." He told us politely, smiling embarrassingly.

From that sentence alone I could understand that he was uneasy around us, or not used to interacting with others.

Ah, a fellow loner. How strange to find a comrade in this strange world. But again, loners are like death; absolute and certain. Until there is life, there will be a loner.

"I have no problem with this. Robin?" I asked her, who was still watching the big knight with a puzzled expression.

"Uh? Oh yes, no problem." She affirmed with a small nod, glancing back at me.

With a wordless sign of acceptance, the knight started moving. I was surprised when I did not hear anything from him: nor the metal of his armour, nor his steps.

Which was impressive, especially compared to the various creaks that I made with my light armour.

I imagine this was the difference between a trained knight and a civilian. Maybe he even has some assassin training. Who knows in this world.

Robin closed the door and hurriedly followed us. When she reached us, she turned around: "Uh, Hachiman? Where is the knight?"

I heard a melancholic sigh escaping from the knight in question.

I could not resist showing him my comradely for this absurd joke at his expense. I patted lightly his armoured back.

"Hach-since when he was there?!" Robin questioned, jumping back. Again.

I frowned, a little tired of this. This was getting old, and fast.

"He always was, Robin. Stop this joke. It's not funny anymore." I answered back, a bit irritated. This made me resurface back bad memories of my middle school years.

Many people ignored me since that incident. It was that or being bullied. Honestly, I did not know what was better.

Truly, if children were the purest expression of humankind, then we were a horrible race.

"Y-you can see, me?" The man suddenly asked, causing me to turn to him and raising an eyebrow in question.

"Of course. With that massive armour, you stuck like a sore thumb." I replied in annoyance, because really, what kind of question was this? Of course I could see him.

"R-really? I-I am Kellam, sir. May I ask you your name?" He quickly said, smiling brightly at me. Oi oi, what is this very Totsuka like smile. Why do you seem so pure? Stop this immediately; you are a knight, you kill people for a living! You have no right to smile this way!

You are ruining the smile of my little sister and my lov-buddy, I meant buddy. Yeah.

"Hikigaya Hachiman. Even if there should be Hachiman Hikigaya. Hachiman is my name." I decided to answer honestly.

There was no need to antagonize more people here. They were going to help me reaching home. I made enough enemies this morning, more than I ever wanted.

Damn it past Hachiman, this is all your fault!

"A pleasure, Sir Hachiman!" he said happily, almost jumping in his place.

"…likewise." I settled to say back, nodding.

For a single, beautiful moment, nobody talked, and I could enjoy the peace that my mind severely needed after all those emotions. I would probably need the silence for years to come after those two days, but I know what I was asking was impossible even back home.

Unfortunately, I would need to interrupt my very well deserved peace earlier than expected, because of the knight, Kellam, started to talk,

God damn, he was a nervous talker. Must be a loner from little then.

"So, uh, you and Lady…" he started to say.

Conditioned by years of practice, and protecting Robin from the shame of the assumption, I immediately answered: "We are not dating."

I could see Robin blinking at my comment, and gave me a curious look, but did not gave any other reactions to that comment. Good.

This was life, not a harem manga.

"O-oh? I see. But that is not what I wanted to ask. I was asking why the Exalt would want to meet you two. If you want to tell me of course." He explained.

I grimaced.

What the hell was an Exalt? The title of the ruler? What language was it? Why not King or Queen? Well, it is transgender so maybe that is the reason…

That would be progressive of them, I guess.

Oh, right, question.

"They didn't tell you?" I asked curiously, unsure if this was the norm in this place.

Kellam shrugged and nodded, replying, "Well, it is not my job to ask. I just have to escort you to the Exalt."

I grimaced at that answer. It was a very dangerous way of thinking, at least back at home. Informed choice was one my parents stressed me the most. But again, this was a monarchy, so this way of thinking may be encouraged.

"Fair enough." I settled to say.

"We… I am not sure. Could be only to make me knee and beg for piety." I said sarcastically, thinking about the last interaction I had with her.

Actually, I could very well do that. I have to apologize after all, and she is royalty.

"Our Exalt would never ask you to do that!" Kellam exclaimed, horrified by the prospect.

I shrugged at that, giving him a sardonic smile.

"Or, it could be to ask us more questions about the Undead now that we are… better?" Robin quickly gave her opinion, trying to cover my terrible joke.

"Or could be that." I agreed nonchalantly, glancing quickly at the knight to see his reaction.

I saw that he was relieved, probably happy to have avoided a difficult topic, before answering,

"Those monsters that are plaguing Ylisstol, right? I never met them, but Lissa said that her group had a skirmish with them, when she was introducing Virion and Marth to us at the barracks. They seem pretty scary. Maybe the Exalt wanted for you to debrief Captain Chrom now that he is back."

I hummed in thought. That could be a possibility.

"So Chrom is back! I am so glad!" Robin smiled hearing the good news.

Honestly, I felt the same way. I completely forgot about them in my *ahem* state, but now I was honestly happy that those good people were fine.

"So you are a Shepherd too, Kellam?" Robin asked curiously, making him blush and scratch his head in clear embarrassment.

"Y-yes, I am. I was one of the first to join three years ago, right after its foundation." He said timidly, but Robin and I could feel the pride that he felt in having this role.

"From the way you talk, it seems like a great achievement. Are the Shepherds an elite force of Ylisse?" he continued to question curiously.

I was sure it was if the Prince guided it. Well that or it is a joke force, created only for the prestige, but this was a fantasy world so I doubt they would do something like that.

Oh, and Chrom seems pretty strong too, I guess.

Judging from Kellam's looks, the first option seemed like a good bet.

"Congratulations." I simply said.

"Thank you. I still can't believe it even after all this time." He said with another bright smile that really should not be on his face.

Curse him.

"But you are! I am sure you will be able to defend your country from those monsters and make all of them proud." Robin happily encouraged, infected by the good humor of our knight.

"If I can beat some, you can. Just hit them in the head or heart." I explained to him in a form of encouragement.

"I will not delude you two. I promise." Kellam said.

Looking at him was like watching a child at his surprise birthday party. It seems like this little chat made his day, no, week.

What an emotional guy. I hope he will be fine.

"Ah, we are here." Kellam announced somewhat disappointed, diverting me from my thoughts.

"Yes. Thank you, Kellam. What do we have to…" Robin questioned, watching the two guards that skirted the door.

I opted to stare at the massive doors, trying to recall them from my memories.

As expected, nothing came to mind. When I was delirious, details and places were a bit hazy. I barely remembered what the Exalt looked like, if not as incredibly powerful in some way.

"Right! I have to announce you two. Wait for a moment please." The knight said and hurriedly entered the room, smiling friendly at us before closing the doors.

"You are ready Hachiman?" Robin asked in a murmur, catching the attention of the two guards.

I simply nodded.

She did not reply, trusting me on this matter. Which was stupid, after what happened last time I was in there, supposedly the throne room, but I will not complain of this.

I had a plan after all.

The door opened again, and the smiling and the strangely satisfied face of Kellam appeared with a big smile from the other side.

* * *

"You may enter." He said with a booming tone, announcing our presence to the people inside.

If I have to describe the interior design of the throne room in a word, grandiose would be my first choice. Alternatively, I would use the word wasteful. Not because the decorations were expensive, which they looked to be, if in a simple way.

No, the entire thing was wasteful because of how big it was. This place could contain two hundreds of people comfortably. Why all this space? We needed one minute of walk time to reach the center of the room were the group was stationed, how would a ruler talk here?

No, wait, magic. Just assume 'magic' is the answer and everything would fit. Still wasteful though.

I observed the group in front of me. There were five core people and a group of guards surrounding us. Of the group, I recognize only Chrom and Frederick. There were two older women, one of which was of the same shade of blonde as Lissa and had Chrom's symbol stamped on her forehead.

I assumed this was the famed 'Emm', Emmeryn, Chrom and Lissa's older sister. Moreover, judging by the absence of paternal figures, she probably was the Exalt too.

That means that the family was orphaned.

Of course. Fantasy logic, Hachiman. Another woman was a knight with light armours similar to mine if more fancy and silver-colored, with light blue hair collected behind her.

The last one… I could not tell from there. He or she wore a mask, with the same blue-haired colour of Chrom, black schemed clothes and a cape. Just like Chrom.

A cousin? Another sibling? Probable.

Chrom was the first to talk to us, smiling charismatically like the god damn fairy tale prince he was.

Curse him.

"Robin, Sir Hachiman, it is a pleasure to see you safe. I feared we would have lost you to those monsters. Those… Undead as they are called, if I am correct." He welcomed us, looking back between his big sister and me.

Robin and I bowed together in a similar, if awkward manner.

"Hello, Chrom." Robin took the initiative to talk to him. "Unfortunately, we had a close encounter with the Undead, yes. They were few though, and the combined effort of my magic and Hachiman's amateurish swordplay was more than enough that the worst we got was a big scare."

I almost wanted to laugh at that phrase. A big scare, she called it. Understatement of the day. To dispel that particular line of thought, I decided to enter in the conversation.

"We are glad you are safe. I thought you were caught in the fire." I said coolly.

He nodded and explained jovially, "Yes, but as you can see, we are all fine. Lissa is at the barracks with our new member, Virion, and our new friend Marth helped us with the Undead threat despite his previous injuries." He then pointed towards person with the same hair.

So he was not family. And was a he, apparently.

"A pleasure." The person said, shifting his gaze (maybe, it was difficult to tell) between Robin and me.

Or not.

The voice was strange, to say at least. Unnaturally deepened, like the man was trying to sound more masculine than he was.

I should know. I tried a lot of time to do this in my middle school days.

Maybe he actually was a female. Only one way to find for sure.

I observed at his/her throat, checking the Adam's apple. From there, I could not see much. Seeing how I was in front of the masked man, I could actually conclude that Adam's apple was not that much visible.

A female then. Why the crossdressing though?

I mentally shrugged. Not my problem.

Emmeryn nodded and smiled in an irritant similar way to his brother, that mix of kindness and charisma that not only accentuated her similarity with Chrom, but also reminded me the image of another charismatic blonde-haired person. That thing was a male though, other than a psychopath.

I could not tell if she was the same. Yet.

"Thank you for answering my request immediately. It heartens me to see you two in better shape than the last time we met. I heard that your… differences were resolved hours ago." The Exalt told us.

My eye twitched at the reminder, and I could see Robin blush deeply thinking about the experience.

"Yes." We simply said.

I noticed Chrom and Frederick looking at the queen in question, while Marth seemed to tense at our reaction. She did not tell them of my episode then. Not yet.

I appreciated the consideration, I really did. It was just a shame that I would ruin it.

Without wasting more time, I slowly sat on my knees, making sure to not set off the guards. I heard the sound of breath inhaled in surprise at the sudden action. But I was not finished.

I bowed my head. I bowed until my forehead touched the floor in the carpet.

If I have to apologize to a ruler, I had to be the most humble possible. Thankfully, I was a born and raised Japanese man, and if there was something we could do from centuries, apologizing was one of them.

I prostrated at their feet without shame. After all, my life valued a lot more than my dignity here.

"This Hikigaya Hachiman humbly apologize to you for the disrespect I dared to have, Lady Emmeryn." I said in the most formal way that I could think of at that moment.

I heard some steps and a hand on my back. From my position, I saw a pair of armoured feet hesitantly approaching me, but stopping midway. Kellam, my mind supplied, because he could be the only good guy that was behind me.

"H-hey Hachman..." The shaken voice of my albino companion started to say, but I interrupted her.

"This man knows that what I did was unforgivable for a woman of your calibre, and the only thing I could ask you for is clemency. I am sorry." I concluded.

Silence.

Nobody spoke.

I remained in this position for what seemed like a minute, before I heard the voice of the Exalt saying:

"You may rise." She ordered. Even then, I could tell that something was wrong in her tone. Gone was the calm and control that previously showed.

Now she seemed struggling to maintain an appearance of peacefulness in her.

"Emm…" I heard Chrom said, but he abruptly stopped.

When I was newly on my feet, I could see the group face. Chrom was clearly shocked by my actions, if not somewhat scared by them. Frederick and the other female bodyguard were stoic, but I could see a mix of disapproving and conflict in their gaze. I could not read the masked woman, because she was, you know, masked.

Emmeryn's face did not betray any kind of emotion, which means that I did something wrong. She did not seem to want to appear as a stoic queen, more like the benevolent but firm kind of ruler, so this lack of emotion was worrying for me.

I did not let my apprehension show on my face though. I just waited for the judgment.

The silence prolonged for a bit, before the Exalt breathed out finally ready to reply.

"You are pardoned." She simply said.

Somewhat, that seemed to cut the tense atmosphere in something more relaxed.

I did not let my relief show. I did not smile.

I bowed again, deeply, but without prostrating myself. Whatever I did made the room feel uncomfortable. Did they never saw a man beg for his life? That sounded improbable.

Whatever the case, I had to change the topic of conversation from this.

"I assumed you called us to review the information about the Undead threat." I questioned, trying to cover this massive mistake. It seemed to work.

The smile returned on her lips. It was smaller, but it was there nonetheless.

"This is one of the reasons, yes. Chrom wanted to know how you two faired when he heard of your arrival. Plus I have some news for you, Sir Hachiman."

I mentally sighed at how she addressed me. I resigned myself to be called by my first name to everyone here. Damn their western origins.

Externally, I just grunted in acknowledgement and said, "Just Hachiman is fine. Sir is too much for me."

Being showed some form of respect from Royals and Knights? That was a black flag if I ever heard one.

Lady Emmeryn nodded, satisfied by the answer, and said, "Very well Hachiman. You and Robin came to us in search of help for your unusual situations, and in exchange, you gave us precious information on the weakness and possible origins of this threat. For that we are incredibly grateful."

I hummed in acknowledgment, while Robin smiled bashfully, embarrassed by the gratitude. "It was a pleasure." The mage answered for the both of us.

Chrom smiled back, and interjected, "Thanks to you we have a clearer idea on how to fight them. I wish to ask you, Hachiman, to repeat your knowledge to Frederick and me for a better understanding."

I grimaced but nodded. Not because of what they asked, no, but because of what I said previously. I did not remember clearly what I said to them, but whatever it was; there was an extremely high probability that what I said was tainted by my polluted state.

I looked at Robin, asking her to take the initiative. She noticed my gaze and took a step forward.

It was like a transformation occurring in front of my eyes. I watched in fascination how Robin simply became more secure, in her element. She started lecturing.

Lecturing royalty and high guards.

"I will debrief everything we know about the so called Undead threat." She started, immediately catching the attention of everyone in the room.

"The first thing that we can immediately notice is that they are generally slow at walking, moving approximately at a marching speed, and seem incapable of running, or, judging from their movement, they did not seem adept at running properly." The mage explained. While people like Chrom, Frederick, and Emmeryn were more serious and concentrated towards the situation, I noticed 'Marth' looking at her in a different way. She seemed mystified by my companion, judging by the small smile that she showed; and in some way, I could describe her look as even longing. When her head shifted towards Chrom, she looked at him in much the same way.

It was curious, but not important.

"They lack basic intelligence." Robin continued to explain, skimming rapidly towards her diary.

Wait, when did she write about them in there?

Pointing at a page, she showed the group a drawing. The entire group took some steps closer to look at the image.

From the little I saw before them covered my visual, it seemed like a very detailed drawing of a generic armoured man and an Undead.

"From my experience they attack whatever they can, and if they got hit, they immediately shift their attention towards the source of the damage. It is unknown if they can sense the cause of the damage with accuracy, but my hypothesis is that they are incapable of doing so, seeing their simplistic mind-set." She continued.

Glancing around, I noticed Frederick and the other guard nodding in understanding, both grimacing in deep thought.

"Up until now, Undead have shown a decent amount of ability with their weapon. Not expert by any means, but with their surprisingly fast and erratic reaction time they can defend from a lot of attacks, but nothing that a decent soldier or a smart person could not overcome. It is unknown if they can use magic." Robin concluded.

There was a general round of nodding and affirmation. Robin simply turned a page and showed them another drawing.

Chrom made an impressed hum.

"With all of this taken into account, a general strategy would be fighting in pairs for quickly dismantlment one. One as bait and one as a striker. Alternatively, heavy armoured units can bait the group and long distance fighters can start to dispatch them with well-placed attacks at their head and their heart, before letting the others swarm the group."

She drew that? The hell? Seriously, when did she have the time?

Did she not sleep with m- Yeah I am not finishing that. Back at the conversation at hand.

"The mask could be another weak spot." I added, scratching my check, unsure of my idea.

The attention shifted immediately to me, making me flinch back.

"Why would you think that?" Chrom asked, genuinely curious of my reasoning.

I scratched my head, testing my next choice of words in my mind.

"Well, I remember that in the group we fought, every single one of them had it. It was the same as yours?"

Chrom glanced at Frederick and Marth, asking silently for their opinion. Both of them gave their affirmation. This was my cue to continue, even if I noticed Frederick gaze sharpening in realization.

"Well, they are monsters. It is strange that everyone had one no? They did not seem to have a fashion sense."

Nobody laughed at my joke, even if Marth and Chrom smiled lightly.

Tough crowd.

"So, that means that is important for them. It could be the source of their life. Or a source. I don't know." I concluded shrugging.

Robin nodded, and reached for a feather to write. She grimaced, noticing that she did not have any at hand. The woman flanking the Exalt, noticing this, made a gesture towards one of the guards surrounding us.

The female guard saluted and walked away.

"This seems like a plausible chance. We will try this method. Thank you for your input Hachiman." Frederick said with a satisfied smile.

Lady Emmeryn smiled at the group, this simple action putting the attention of the room on her. Magic, it must be. No wait, that blonde bastard could do that too.

Another blonde with the power of The Zone? Damn blondes and their superpowers!

"Well, this seems to be a lot more productive than I thought it would be. Maybe we should have moved towards the council room." She commented.

She looked at Robin, adding, "You seem to be adept in tactics, Robin. I am pleasantly surprised." Robin's composure crashed with only those words and she blushed, embarrassed by the praise.

Fidgeting, she answered, "Y-yes, Lady Emmeryn. We believe that before this I was an apprentice tactician or a teacher."

Marth shook her head in disbelief, "Apprentice, she says…"

Chrom agreed with the sentiment: "Try Master… wait, believe? What do you mean by that?" He asked in worry, noticing the slip.

How slow of you Prince Chrom. You should be more adapted to notice these errors.

Robin moth clicked closed and glanced unsure towards me.

What? What do you want from me? This is your thing, not mine. Stop looking at me like a puppy!

Before I could say or do something, the Exalt replied.

"Yes, your unfortunate predicament. It did come up in our last conversation." She said, glancing at me.

I arched an eyebrow.

"Ridiculous…" Frederick commented, shaking his head.

I rolled my eyes. Of course, he thought that.

"It does not matter if you believe that or not." I commented a bit irritated from his scepticism, because even with all of this information, he still believed this could be a trap?

There is paranoid, but this is on another level entirely.

Chrom instead did seem to be shocked by the revelation, and was gaping like a fish. A stupidly handsome fish.

"I believe them, Frederick, and so does Phila." Emmeryn informed, prompting the now named guard Phila to nod in conviction.

"I can understand the scepticism, Frederick, but it is my conviction that those two are not a peril to the Exalt and her family." She observed the two of us, and added, "For how incredible and outlandish their situation may be, they are just unlucky people caught in a hard situation"

Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, I appreciated your support on the matter, but this is making me uncomfortable. Your pity is quite hard to accept after all that happened this morning.

Frederick actually paused at her support, cautiously thinking on her words. It was strange how much he took in consideration of this woman's words over the Exalt's so openly and without much repercussion.

"I see." He finally settled to say with a resolute nod.

Marth took a step towards us, in particular, towards Robin, "No matter what your situation may be, your skill in battle planning are undeniable. I am sure Ylisse would like to have you in your ranks." She commented, glancing up to Chrom.

He blinked, surprised as me and the group of the sudden comment, "W-well, of course yes but…" he looked between me and Robin, scratching his chin in confusion "I was under the impression that you two were not interested in joining." He said.

Joining the elite force of a nation I just came in contact with, granting constant support and companionship for my research for the Gates in time of peace?

Hell no!

That is stupid. First of all, while Chrom and Emmeryn seem like good people and try their best to rule, joining them would mean taking a side in a possible conflict with another nation. And that would mean being in the frontline and fighting for a kingdom I did not care much.

And that would mean killing other people.

Plus, with what could only be dubbed as 'plot' kicking in just when I arrived and the appearance of those Undead, that meant that the army and the Shepherds would be concentrated on defending Ylisse from them, cutting drastically the time to help me search for a way home and my personal time to both.

No matter what, this was a lose for me, and Robin could make a similar case.

Looking back at the Tactician waiting for her answer, I was surprised to see her already shaking her head in disagreement.

"I am flattered, Chrom, but I do not desire to join your group. Nothing personal but… I already have something else to do." She said, smiling back at me.

I was not sure, but I could feel my lips twitching upwards at her.

Chrom shrugged in a very unprince-like manner and smiled back, clearly not surprised nor offended by the rejection.

Marth, on the other hand, looked extremely shaken by this turn of events. It was not visible to all, but I could see her shoulder shake for just a moment.

She took a step back and hesitantly said, "O-oh. I see. P-pardon my interjection."

Robin nodded, unfazed or uncaring of her comment, "Do not worry, it is fine."

I arched my eyebrow, thinking about what just occurred. This woman just tried to recruit Robin to join the Ylisse army.

Chrom did not put her up to this, of that I was certain. Chrom was an honest character, from what I saw of him when he helped us. If he wanted her to join us, he would have asked her directly.

The Exalt could have done it, but she literally just assisted us to the best of her capability. She would have no way to make up this charade in minutes.

"Robin, for you." The ruler voice interrupted my thoughts.

I saw the Exalt approaching us, giving Robin a series of books, three to be exact, with ink and a feather included.

"Those are Fire and Wind tomes and another book for your notes." She said, smiling calmly at the two of us. She then glanced back at me, then at the same guard that was tasked to give her the tomes. She murmured something to her.

The guard nodded, bowed, and departed again.

"Now, if you may follow me, we should move to a more appropriate location." She added, patiently waiting for the general assent to show us the way.

We all followed her without much fanfare.

She guided us to a room not too distant from the throne room. This room was smaller and simpler in design compared to the first.

Gesturing us towards some wooden chairs, she indicated us to sit. I hesitated, unsure if there was an etiquette for this kind of thing. Fortunately, I did not have to make an ass of myself. More than I already have, I mean. Chrom sat first, and Frederick followed behind him. He did not sit, standing like a statue behind his Prince.

Emmeryn sat at the centre at the table, with Chrom at her right and her guard following Frederick's lead, standing behind her.

Marth followed, sitting at Chrom's side.

I decided to sit at the Exalts left side, facing Chrom, while Robin sat beside me, facing Marth.

The moment Robin took her place, she quickly took out her diary and the new feather and started scribbling in it, probably updating her information with new ones and zoning out the entire room.

I coughed awkwardly at her action.

"So… is this a war room?" I asked lamely, unsure of how to continue the conversation.

Emmeryn chuckled at the scene, smiling pleasantly at us. "Of sort. I had this prepared to talk about the sensitive information that you gave us. And to help you in your… situation." She said, glancing at Marth.

Chrom was more impatient than his sister was and immediately started to question me.

"Sis said that you had some ideas of the origins of those Undead. Would you mind sharing them with us?" He asked, cutting to the matter of the situation.

I could appreciate someone that would immediately go to the heart. Thank you Chrom, for being the meathead character that the masses love.

I looked at the table, organizing my thoughts, and nodded. Robin looked at me, her attention now completely on me.

"First off, I have to remind you all that all of this is only a hypothesis based on the situation at hand and similar legends that came from my homeland." I started to explain, receiving a nod from the Exalt and Chrom.

"I am aware Hachiman, do not worry." Emmeryn calmed me with a gesture of her hand, "But all legends come from something true." She countered quietly.

Normally, I would agree with her reasoning, but seeing as how I came from another world entirely, I didn't know how that would be relevant.

But if she wanted my knowledge, I will give her that.

I decided on what to say, "First off, let's talk about the Undead in general. The word Undead is a general term for monsters that are, well, dead, but continue to interact with the world. There are various types of Undead, like zombies, reanimated corpses, lich, vampires and ghosts." I started to explain, earning some nods of affirmation.

It was embarrassing to talk about all of this and being taken so seriously. The past me would have loved the attention. I only wished that I did not have all this knowledge from my Dark Days.

As always, my past self is at fault for every single one of my problems.

"What your monsters seem to me are a particular mix of zombies and reanimated corpses." I explained. "The first, Zombies, are monsters that move slowly and lack intelligence, like the Undead, but their body is rotten and continue to deteriorate in time. Beheading them is the most common method to kill them for good." I stopped, having them soak the information just given.

When everyone was nodding, I continued to explain, "On the other hand, reanimated corpses are what are most similar to your problem. They are, as said, corpses that are brought back to life with a various degree of conscience that vary based on the ability and will of the Necromancer that revived them."

Chrom nodded in understanding, crossing his arms and reflecting on the information, "I see. So, based on your descriptions, the Undead are the type of reanimated corpses. That led you to believe the presence of someone that could have created them."

I nodded, "Correct." I admitted, but I continued to say, "But trusting only these kind of similarities without proof is foolish at best. I would like to present you another argument, if you'll let me."

I paused for a moment, but immediately after that Chrom nodded without hesitation, as did Emmeryn.

I was honestly surprised on how much trust they gave me on this. That would only mean that I should give my best to impart them my knowledge, no matter how embarrassing it is for me or how useless that could become in light of the truth.

"Very well then." I accepted, and stopped to think about how to explain this to them.

This was literally a spur of the moment theory. I was making this up at that moment. Come on Hachiman, use you linguistic skills when they are necessary.

"We have to take three points in account: how the Undead arrived, their numbers, and their intelligence." I explained, showing them three fingers.

Robin was in a frenzy, writing everything that seem relevant in her book.

"First, how they arrived here. Everyone knows the events of the earthquake, a fire, and the glowing sky. From the sky, the Undead appeared. Right?" I asked, receiving a round of nods.

So, there was nothing that I did miss from the scene. That is good, it means I am on the right track.

"This makes me think of three possibilities: the Undead are either summons, reanimated corpses, or constructs. I do not know of other possibilities. Does anyone have any other suggestions?"

When nobody spoke, I took it as my cue to continue my explanation and hypothesis.

"The first thing that should be expelled from the list is some form of summon. A summon is an individual, something that those monsters doesn't seem to be. Summons are different from each other, something that the Undead clearly are not, with the only difference being the type of weapon they wield." I explained, receiving general rounds of nods from them.

"Next, they could be constructs or puppets. There is nothing that directly contradicts this possibility, except their high number."

Emmeryn nodded with an uncharacteristic serious expression. "I see. If the energy necessary to simply transport such a massive number would be tremendous, adding the cost of creating bodies would be simply absurd."

I nodded, glad that someone understood the point.

"Exactly. If we want to consider the possibilities of being puppets…"

Chrom, which had his eyes wide in realization, interrupted me: "They should have prepared this from hundreds of years, with such numbers. No single human could do this alone and undetected. This leaves..."

I grinned, giving them the final piece of my idea: "That they probably had raw material in dead corpses, which are everywhere. With a form of magic the single or, more probable given the numbers, group would have dozens of minions to throw at the people for…"

I stopped.

"Whatever they want to do." I concluded with a shrug. Because honestly, what could be the reason for all of this mess? World conquest? Could be.

Having said my piece, I relaxed my shoulders on the chair, waiting patiently for the verdict of this explanation.

Robin stopped writing and placed her feather on the table.

Chrom grimaced, glancing at his sister in clear worry. He made to talk, but hesitated for a moment. But then he decided to speak: "Emm if he is right the most probable candidate for this is Pe-"

"Chrom." Emmeryn stopped him severely.

He did not take the rebuke in stride. "Sister cease this! I know that you do not want to start a war but this is different! They created monsters to attack us! They desecrated the dead!" he shot back angrily.

"We did not know for sure if what Hachiman said is true, as we do not know if they target only us. Those monsters appeared only yesterday and our informants did not update us on the situation in Plegia and Ferox." She quickly countered, without raising her voice.

"Emmeryn, the major concentration of dark mages in the continent is in Plegia. Most, if not all the Grimleal Priest, are Dark Mages!" Chrom protested.

"That is propaganda Chrom and you know it. It is true that a major point of the Cult of Grima is the study of Elder Magic, but it was never a requirement for his followers."

Chrom gritted his teeth in anger, before saying, "This is only semantics when all of their High Priests are old warmongers and fanatics against Naga's spawn and her followers."

The Exalt sighed and, massaging her forehead, rebuked, "That may be true, but they lived a long life. They have some wisdom, and they know that a war would be the last thing the nation and the people want, despite their King intentions."

Chrom slumped, tapping his fingers in irritation on the table.

"Fine. If it is this you want." He eased, clearly unhappy about the result of the conversation.

I glanced back at Emmeryn. She was the picture of calmness, but even she wasn't happy about her conversation against her brother.

Looking around the room, the only people clearly distressed about the conversation were Marth and Robin, the latter of which was looking periodically between the two siblings.

Noticing the distressed expression of the two girls, the blonde ruler smiled apologetically, "I am sorry you had to see this." She said, prompting a sad smile from Chrom and a nod.

I shrugged uncaring, "I had fiercer battle against my sister for the last dish." I told them.

She always won those of course. All she add to do was make that sad little face of a lost and hungry kitten and I would fold.

That sly fox, she always knew how to play me.

Hum, I wonder how Kamakura is doing without me feeding him. I am sure Komachi would do a good job at taking care of that lazy cat.

I saw the brother and sister chuckle, clearly amused by my reply and instantly lifting their spirits.

Good for them.

"I see. Marth, do you have anything else to add? You said you had some experience with these kinds of phenomena." Chrom asked, now calmer about the revelations.

Marth didn't answer the question immediately. She bit her lip, clearly unsure of something, and let the room wait for her input.

After a good minute, she said, "Most of what I wanted to say has already been said." She affirmed.

Chrom looked a bit disappointed at the admission. Luckily for him, she wasn't finished, "But I had something in mind. I have no proof of this, so it is more of a hunch than anything concrete." She explained.

I did not think that they cared much about that. If they heard my ramblings about my hypothesis with zero to no chance of being true, hearing a hunch would not raise an eyebrow.

I trusted Emmeryn on not acting on it. If Chrom was the ruler, I would be more preoccupied, giving his hot headed personality, but the actual Exalt seem to have a good head on her shoulders.

Seeing how nobody seemed to be against her talking, she took a deep breath.

"I-I believe…" she started to say, only to stop and bite her lips.

I arched my eyebrows, a bit irritated by the hesitation. Come on girl, talk.

"That the cause of this may not be human." She finally said, looking immediately at the Exalt and the Prince to see their reactions.

Emmeryn seemed in deep thought, reflecting the possibility. On the other hand, Chrom asked for clarifications, "What do you mean? Only people on the level of the Voice of Naga would have this kind of power, or Naga herself."

"What about something similar to them?" Marth countered quickly.

Chrom looked confused at the prospect. Emmeryn on the other hand, asked "You fear that another Divine Dragon of being the cause of this?"

Marth hesitated: "… or a Fell Dragon." She whispered.

Everyone heard her.

"Ridiculous!" Frederick finally snapped, stepping in the conversation, clearly irritated by the direction this little council was taking.

"Are you suggesting that somehow, the Fell Dragon Grima, who is recorded being slayed one thousand years ago by our First Exalt, is back?" He asked sarcastically.

Phila was more composed than her comrade, but the scepticism was clearly written on her face.

When the masked woman simply nodded, Frederick sharply turned towards his ruler and captain. "Milord, Milady, surely you could not believe this nonsense!" He asked.

I had no idea what the hell the group was talking about anymore. Looking back at the albino at my side, I saw her writing something on her pages, even if she was a lot slower this time. She noticed my gaze, and, predictably, she shrugged.

Obviously, she too, hadn't the foggiest idea of what they were talking about.

I could only try to extrapolate from the context what the words means, only to decide to let things go.

"It could as well be possible, Frederick. The events of the dead rising from their slumber is unnatural on its own." The blonde woman said, contemplating the situation.

"Milady!" Frederick exclaimed, horrified.

"You have to admit, Frederick, if what we are facing are really the dead, the possibility of the resurrection of the Fell Dragon may as well be possible." Chrom supported her.

The Knight seemed even more flabbergasted at the insinuation, actually taking a step back in horror.

He looked back at Phila, who just shook her head in resignation, sharing the same sentiment as her companion.

"We will keep this as a possibility. Thank you for sharing your suspect with us, Marth." Emmeryn said gracefully, smiling prettily.

The masked woman seemed visibly relieved by that. "T-That's all I ask of you." She said, bowing her head.

"Uuuh…" Robin said, raising her hand to catch the attention of the group.

"Yes, Robin." Chrom noticed and looked at her.

"I-we…" Robin started to tell, glancing at me to ask for confirmation. I shrugged and nodded, having an inkling of what she was asking for.

"We do not recognize the names you talk about." She explained. Chrom blinked owlishly. Marth mouth slacked open.

Emmeryn nodded, unfazed by the news, and said, "Of course. Excuse our distraction on the matter. I will immediately instruct you on the basics."

Good, context. I hope that you would keep the explanation under ten words, or you will lose my extremely short span of attention gained as a 21st century boy.

"As you may have noticed, Ylisse's relationship with Plegia, our neighbouring country to the west, is… strained." She explained, pausing for a moment at the last world.

We nodded, both having the brain to gather that much from this conversation.

"There are many reasons for this. One of the most prominent was that our previous ruler started a war of extermination on Plegia, causing the death of thousands on both sides. Only when both Kings were slayed themselves, the kingdoms could obtain the peace that the people wanted."

The notion made my mental bells ring, and strengthened my back, because seriously, what the hell? A war of extermination? That's dark! What the fuck the previous Exalt was thinking to consider that a good idea? Was he a supremacist?

Wait, wasn't the previous Exalt their… ooh!

I twitched when the realization hit me. A tyrannical father, a war, and a kingdom in pieces. That explains Emmeryn's caution.

"Another one is more… ideological, you would say: our religions are, let's say, conflicting." She said.

I nodded. I could see where this was going. From what I understood from earlier conversations, Plegia's national religion had a good grasp in the politics, so that would make them push for another war.

But that was not what we were asking.

"Ylisse has the majority of its subjects as followers of the Church of Naga. She is for us our Goddess and Creator, protector of humanity and the Divine Dragon who helped us in the foundation of our kingdom, giving only who has her Brand the right to rule it." She explained.

I glanced at her forehead and Chrom's arm. They both showed the same mark, the mark of what I believe is the Brand of Naga.

This did raise a lot of questions. If what they said was true and not simple propaganda, that would mean the existence of divinity in this world. Divinity who could be responsible for my predicament, or maybe, just maybe, help me on my way home.

"Unfortunately, it has been since the first Exalt's reign since we've last had contact with her." She said, likely perceiving my thoughts.

I clicked my tongue in disappointment, but did not let the matter bring down my spirit.

"Lady Tiki is the only priestess who is said to be able to contact the Goddess, and she is a Manakete of old, said to be born since long before the foundation of the kingdom. She is able to use the power of the Goddess, so she is called the Voice of Naga. She currently sleeps in Valm, another continent weeks of distance from Ylisse." The Exalt added.

"The Kingdom of Plegia worship what is called the Fell Dragon Grima. A Dragon that symbolizes chaos and destruction to build creation. It is the end to Naga's beginning, so to speak. It is said that the Fell Bloodline is at the head of the Church of Grima, and helped the foundation of the Kingdom, but there is no actual proof of this."

I nodded, now able to place context to the names that were previously told in the discussion.

"So you're telling me that the first ruler of Ylisse killed Grima, and this is because their clergy has a grudge with your bloodline and Naga?" I asked for clarification.

The blonde woman nodded gravely, "Yes. Legends say that Grima sought to destroy the continent, and the First Exalt was tasked by Goddess Naga to stop him. His skeleton is said to be still visible in some points of the Kingdom of Plegia."

I grunted in affirmation, and started to process the new information.

I was unsure of how to take all of this. This took everything on another level than before. I had little doubt that this Grima and Naga would become a pain in the ass in the long run, not with the luck I showed up until now.

I suddenly came here, and Undead start falling from the sky, adding to the tense situation in the continent? Yeah, if this was a novel, this would be plot material.

Bad things are about to happen, that was for sure.

"There is only one thing that I did not understand. Why would someone worship a Dragon of Destruction and Chaos?" I heard Robin ask.

"Because those factors are not inherently evil." I answered without thinking.

So, I had to find a way to get a way out of this without being caught on this mess. And Robin too. Great, a mission on time limit! How lucky of me! Now, where the hell could I find some clue to go home and help Robin?

Wait, Robin is Plegian, right? Damn it, we have to go there to find some clue. How cute, of course, we have to go on the obviously evil country to find some answers…

I then noticed all of the presents looking straight at me.

"What?" I asked, a bit more defensively I would have liked to.

Hesitantly, Chrom asked cautiously, "You just told us that Destruction and Chaos are not inherently evil. Why would you think that?"

I blinked and looked at the group like they were a bunch of idiots. Then I realized I was surrounded by a group of self-adsorbed knights and rulers that thought like this was the Middle Ages, and almost palmed myself in frustration at my slip.

Sighing, I considered the pro's and con's of entering a philosophical debate with the group, "Does it matter?" I asked, trying to ignore the matter.

Chrom shrugged, likely finding the matter not important enough in the face of the more immediate problem, and Emmeryn politely decided to ignore the outburst.

Unfortunately, someone else was not of the same idea.

"Yes. After all, this could be that you could work for the Grimleal." The fake male voice of a 'mysterious' swordswoman said.

I snapped my head at Marth, grimacing at the accusation. Where did that come from?

Gritting my teeth, I replied, "I thought we were on the same page, Marth. Those are baseless conjectures at best. For all intents and purpose, this Grima is not going to come back anytime soon, and I have no desire to meet a Dragon. I have better things to do in my time."

Seeing how that little spiel wasn't going to change her suspicious anytime soon, judging by the intense gaze I could feel from behind her masks, I added, "But fine. I'll humour your basic and restricted view of the world."

I grinned, glancing at everyone in the room: "Seeing how you meatheads only seem to think in militaristic sense, I'll start with the 'worst' of the two definition. Let's talk about Destruction. So Marth…" I said, leaning towards the masked woman.

"Have you ever heard of the term mercy kill?" I asked. She shot up in fury, loudly slamming her hands on the table. "Do not talk of the honourable act of giving a dignified death as something as horrible as destruction!" she screamed, in raged.

In that moment, it was all the more clear that she was a woman to me. A quick glance to the others showed that the group did not notice the slip up. How lucky for her.

"And why not? Is it not the act of killing a form of destruction in itself? Whatever the reason, you killed a man all the same. Death is death, no matter what excuse you give to it. The man will not breathe again, will not move and create again, will not live again. Or are you telling me that is not true, Marth?"

She gritted her teeth, clearly displeased by my words. Emmeryn was nodding, seemingly impressed by my argument, while Chrom was contemplating my words. The two Knights were just looking at the scene, betraying nothing of their thoughts.

"No answer? Very well. Let's talk about Chaos. Do you know what a by-product of Chaos is?" I asked her.

She did not hesitate in her answer, "Ruin, panic and senseless battles."

I shook my head, clicking my tongue in mock disappointment: "How close-minded of you. Those are the extreme cases. It is true, but those are not the only things. Chaos creates choice. It brews things like dreams and desire. It creates change. Imagine if the rules would remain the same for all eternity. Do you think you would be like this then?" I replied, grinning.

I gave her my final piece, "Nothing is inherently evil. It is only the use that you made of them that changes everything. Extreme rules could be as disastrous as rampant chaos. It would make you no more than a puppet." I said, leaning back on the chair.

It was a spiel that was always said in modern media. Cliché as hell, but that did not make it any less true. In addition, these people have never heard of something like this, judging by the times, so blatantly riping off some anime or manga would actually result in something original!

Hooray for plagiarism!

Marth stood silent, still fuming from my 'courteous explanation', when the woman with the higher social status in the room decided to talk.

"That was very informative, Hachiman. Rest assured I do not suspect you of working with the enemy. Marth, I will have to ask to not let your suspicious get the better of you. Now, I would like for you, Chrom and Frederick to leave the room. Robin, Hachiman and I have another matter to attend. I assure it will not take much time." Emmeryn said, diffusing the situation at the best of her abilities.

Chrom nodded and got up without much thinking, immediately followed by Frederick. The knight did not go out of the room without glancing at Phila, who just nodded in determination.

I assume that was a way to wish her good luck as any. Those serious types of characters have a strange way to communicate. Kinda like strange animals, really.

Marth was the last to leave and more hesitant to leave the room, glancing at the Exalt and me suspiciously. I visibly rolled my eyes. What was she thinking, that I would kill her? Good idea, with a trained guard right behind her, this would be a foolproof plan!

In the end, the masked woman left the room, leaving only me, Emmeryn, Phila and Robin. How lucky of me, surrounded by all these beauties.

For some reason, nobody talked for a full minute, leaving all of us in the silence. I would be normally fine with this, but I had things to do. Like, searching for the gates, or help Robin.

Finally, Emmeryn spoke, "That was a… interesting meeting, Hachiman, Robin." She started, slowly rising from her chair.

I was unsure if I had to mirror the action or not. Seeing Robin doing just that, I decided to follow her lead, with her being still more knowledgeable of the world than me.

Now all on our feet, Emmeryn closed in on us.

"You gave much more information than I could have hoped for. You could have gave a big push to Ylisse. For that, I gave you my deepest thanks." She said, bowing properly, much to my and Robin's surprise.

"I-It was nothing! You welcomed us despite our strange background, this was the least that we could do." The Tactician replied quickly, trying to mask her embarrassment.

"I do not know how much my hypothesis would help. My contribution is next to nothing. There is no need to thank me. Robin did all the important parts." I replied shaking my head.

Emmeryn rose, and watching me in the eyes, said, "You gave us something to work for. Maybe all your speculation may be wrong, but you gave us something to look for. A starting point that alone, we could not have. That is more than nothing." She countered resolutely, much to my embarrassment and Phila's agreement.

"Do not underestimate what you gave us. A starting point is a marginal improvement over nothing. And we will repay you in kind." The female guard said.

I raised my eyebrow at the last statement. Contrary to all my rational thoughts, I dared to hope.

"You mean…" I started to ask.

"Yes." The Exalt interrupted, pulling out from her robe a group of pages. Taking them, I saw a series of maps.

"Those are maps of a village at the southeast of Ylisstol and its surroundings. After a brief research, we found that the recoded Outrealmers departed towards south when they decided to go back. Honestly, I doubt you will find much there. However, maybe your presence means that something has changed. It seems many impossibilities are happening now." She explained.

I bit my lip. This was it. A trace. A faint and highly improbable trace, as said by Emmeryn, but a trace nonetheless. I had a starting point.

If I go there, Robin and I may…

I stopped thinking. Robin.

I glanced at the girl in question. She was looking at me with a mix of happiness and worry. Noticing me observing her, she quickly diverted her eyes.

Damn it.

"I'll see. We will go immediately." I said, glancing back at Robin and giving her, the woman with way too much internal pockets, the pages.

She quickly took them.

Emmeryn nodded, "Of course. I'll prepare two horses for you. It is a shame that you arrived in such dire times. In any other circumstances, this would be a joyous occasion." She admitted.

I could see that. A person from another world, who would not like that in their court? Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.

"If you follow a guard, tell them that I gave you access to the armory for you, Hachiman. Take a weapon. It's dangerous out there, now more than ever." She said smiling.

The way she so casually said of giving me a weapon unnerved me. Maybe it's because of how frowned upon possessing a weapon is in Japan, or maybe this world is completely lax in those kinds of things.

Whatever the case, it was true that I could not go around the country unarmed with Undead roaming around.

I bowed deeply, thankful for all the gifts, "Thank you, Lady Emmeryn" I said curtly.

Strangely, my linguistic ability that I prided myself to have were failing now. I had too much that I wanted to say to convey my gratitude, but words had little meaning in the world. They felt hollow to me.

Words were free to give and in this situation, I felt that words were not the thing I wanted to give her for her unconditional help.

"Think nothing of it. As a member of the Naga's blessed bloodline, helping lost sheep is a duty and is a pleasure." She replied with the calm and dignity that she usually showed in the moments she takes decisions for her Kingdom.

In that moment, she was not Emmeryn, but the Exalt, the ruler of the kingdom of Ylisse.

I did not know what to think of it. After all, the Exalt was only a mask for her. A fake face crafted to gain the popularity of the masses.

I would not be a hypocrite and say that I did not understand the necessity of such a mask; but that does not mean I liked being treated as a lost, confused baby, even if it is what I was there, for all intent and purposes.

We took that as our cue to leave the two. With a final bow, Robin said for the both of us, "I wish you good luck with the invasion. We will be sure to contact you if we found something to report." She said, much to my slight annoyance.

Volunteering us for reconnaissance work, Robin? Why would you do this? I surely hope you do not intend to actively search for information on those things! That is just a secure flag to enter in the center of the storm! I am trying to avoid the plot, damn it!

Hiding my thoughts, we leave the two women alone, getting out from the room.

Surprisingly no one but Marth was there, waiting for us or the Exalt.

When she approached us, I had to conclude, sadly, that she was waiting for me and Robin.

"What were you talking about with the Exalt?" She immediately demanded, skipping any kind of pleasantries.

I grimaced at the question. I opened my mouth to answer her, but Robin beat me to the punch, "Hachiman and I are searching for something that could help me regain my memories and help him in his research. The Exalt gave us some information."

I hummed in affirmation, mildly impressed by Robin's answer. It did not give anything away. Marth already knew that Robin lacked memories, and it was obvious that I wanted something from the Exalt. She never told her what.

I did not know if keeping my origins a secret from the world was a good idea or not, but for now, I'll play cautiously.

"And what are you searching?" she asked.

That was my clue to intervene, "Nothing relevant to your quest. It has nothing to do with the Undead, Grima and whatever is happening here. We will depart immediately and get out of your hair."

That did not calm her down. Rather, she panicked more at my answer.

"W-what? But you ca-" she tried to say, looking between us. In particular, she was lingering more on Robin.

"S-surely, whatever it is could be found without you leaving the capital, right?" She asked in panic.

That was it. Coupled with the earlier recruitment attempt, this confirmed my suspicions. This woman wanted Robin here, in Ylisstol. For whatever reason, Robin was an important piece for her and had to stay within the Exalt's grasp. Her or the Prince.

She knew her. She knows something about Robin. It has to be. Emmeryn and Chrom did not seem particularly attached to her now that they have the information they needed, so I had no doubt that they were out of the loop.

Grimacing, I answered, "You would be wrong. We need to get out to find it. Let's go Robin." I said, dismissing her and walking away, with Robin at my side, who was giving her an apologetic smile.

Whatever she wanted, I could disrupt it simply by taking Robin out with me. Simple as that.

"N-no, wait!" I heard her say, and quickly she followed us.

I ignored her, and the massive armour of the only knight I had a decent relationship with within the castle was a good excuse as any.

"Sir Kellam." I called out, looking at him. The little face in the armour lit up at his name, and smiled at me. With a friendly and awkward wave, he approached us.

"Sir Hachiman, Lady Robin…. Uh, Sir Marth?" He greeted us. Robin smiled politely and waved back. Marth actually jolted, scared by his appearance.

"Hello." I greeted politely. "I would like to have you accompany us at the armoury. We are to depart briefly, but I need a weapon to defend myself against those monsters and wild animals." I explained briefly.

Kellam immediately saddened when he heard that, making me feel like I just kicked a downed puppy.

"O-oh, so you two are leaving?" He asked dejected.

Fortunately for me, I had the perk 'disgusting jerk' since my middle school days, so his attack was halved, leaving me almost unaffected by his saddened look.

Unfortunately, Robin was not immune to that technique, "Do not worry Sir Kellam. I am sure we will see each other again in the future. You are Shepherds after all. You will survive some stupid Undead and tell us your tales. We will share ours. Right Hachiman?"

I smiled awkwardly and nodded. In reality, I wanted to hit my companion in the face, screw being a gentleman. That girl really had to do that? That is a death flag woman! Do you want us to die? Or do you hate this man that much to want him to die?

He immediately lit up, and I almost retracted my thoughts. Almost. "Y-yes! I Will be sure to tell you a lot! Now, follow me! What kind of weapon are you searching for, Sir Hachiman?" He asked, starting to walk.

I followed him with Robin right behind me.

"The only time I had a weapon was a sword. I never trained or fought before in my life." I answered honestly.

Kellam nodded seriously, "I see. This may be a problem… but I am sure we can find something for you." He said, smiling.

I smiled back, this time more genuine. Seems I made the right choice with him.

"That is a really scary smile you have there, Hachiman…" Robin commented lightly.

I grimaced. Of course she would say that. Damn, and I thought she was different. "Oi, that is really impolite of you to say."

In all of this, Marth was left behind, shocked by the sudden turn of events.

* * *

"Are you two ready then?" The timid voice of Kellam asked, checking me for the last time.

Robin and I gave our affirmation. Now at the gate of the castle, the three of us were doing the last preparations and checks before the journey.

"Everything is in order." I said, patting my bag. There were rations and other necessities inside it, together with the pyjamas that I came with. Like hell I was forgetting it here!

"Do you remember what I said?" He asked again, looking at my weapon of choice.

I nodded, this time a bit more hesitantly. Not because I was unsure of the choice or his tips, but because I was still scared of the prospect of using it.

"Then let Robin do the calls and always listen to her, okay?" He said, prompting another nod, causing Robin to smile and laugh.

There is nothing to laugh about, Robin! This is literally a matter of life and death! My life or death!

"V-very well then. I suppose, this is goodbye then." He said, dejected.

I grumbled in irritation at his sad mood. "We'll be fine. We are not in search for trouble. You, on the other hand, are a knight. Stay safe." I said to him.

"I will." He nodded in determination.

With all of that said and done, I made to the horse.

"Wait!" A familiar voice said.

Looking back, I saw Marth running towards us in haste. I growled in disappointment. I thought we were got rid of her.

"What?" I asked in irritation.

"I-I will come with you!" She said quickly, recomposing herself.

I sighed. Of course, she would. It seems she wanted to observe Robin for some reason. I debated if it was worth starting a fight with her for this, but, once again, Robin beat me to it.

"Of course, Sir Marth. May I ask you why?"

The disguised woman breathed in relief and explained, "I have to find my comrades. I do not know where they are, but following you I may find someone."

I would have loved to call bullshit on that, I really wanted to, but unfortunately, I was not in the position to criticize someone on a goose chase.

"Fine." I allowed, not bothering to disguise my irritation with the arrangement. I gave Marth my back.

"Robin, I am with you. I sure do not want to share a horse with he-Marth." I said, carefully masking any feminine pronoun.

Robin, bless her soul, simply accepted my request and helped me to sit on the horse. Thankfully, the horse did not seem to mind the extra weight.

"Sir Kellam." I waved off curtly.

The knight saluted, causing Marth to jolt again. She then got on the other horse.

"Goodbye Sir Kellam! Good luck!" Robin waved happily, giving him the last smile.

"Good luck to you too." He said back.

With a last wave, we took off.

Leaving behind a castle, a fairy tale prince, and an honourable knight. I was accompanied by an albino, amnesic mage and a suspicious masked woman after said amnesiac, I could easily say that my otherworldly fantasy adventure just began, as expected.

**END PROLOGUE, BROKEN TIES.**

**Boom, title drop.**

**Here is the last chapter of the prologue. I hope you guys got hooked. So, as you can see, Hachiman and Robin got away from canon. Because, let's be honest, Hachiman in the military? Yeah, not happening anytime soon.**

**Would this mean they would never meet the Shepherds? No. However, they will not join them anytime soon. After all, the two has an objective of their own, and joining the military would make the two accomplish them hard. Especially with canon.**

**Next chapter will be published soon. I am really excited for that. Stay tuned.**

**Taine**

**Reviews:**

** LookItsADoggy: I see, thanks. Would you mind telling me what could have been better? Beside tone down the crazy, I mean.**

** Kreeft123xx SpartanRyo: Glad it caught your interests. Welcome.**

** GoldenNova 0miicron Guest: I am posting what I already said to the two of you on Hachiman behavior: **

**The cringe was what I was going for, but I can understand what you mean. ****I posted this chapter knowing well that it could be off.**

**While I agree that some moments are over the top (deliberately), I am reasonably convinced that the lashing out would be in character, in my opinion.**

**My reasoning is that he went from waking up not in his home (that would at least freak out mental people.), meeting an amnesiac that breaks on him (an introvert with little experience with people), to walking in the woods for a day, meeting weirdos/delusional 'cosplayers' that would not break character no matter the situation, to sleep on the ground (minor, but helps.), to wake up with the ground cracking and zombies falling from the sky, fighting said zombies, almost dying and realize he is in another world.**

**I would agree that Hachiman would 'shrug off' let's say, some of these events, but all of that together?**

**I personally think he would not be in his right state of mind. A lot of what he does is probably over the top, but the lashing out at everyone and everything?**

**I think that part is reasonable, and I would not change that. I see him as just a normal teenager with complexes and persecuted in the past. Yeas, he would normally stay calm in most situation, especially if we talk about social pressure, but all of this? I do not think so.**

**Again, this is my opinion. In this fic, he will show weaknesses when confronted with the horrors of a medieval setting, like bandits, war, and blood. There will never be such a big discrepancy with his character, but he won't be unflippable on the outside as he is always shown in general.**

***Shrugs* whatever the case this is the only chapter planned that have such a big diversion from normal Hachiman, so it would not be a problem that will continue.**

** Guest: I am writing again here because I believe your feedback needs a specific answer: I appreciate that you gave me an alternative on how Hachiman would react, but I am going to explain why I think he would not do what you said. **

**You said, and I quote, that he would not start mouthing off people in power. That he would have a private breakdown and not public. That he would speak less and amass information and power to figure out a way home.**

**On all those things, I agree only that he would speak less than normal, so I should probably cut a lot of his rambling in the chapter when I rewrite it in the future. **

**But anything else you said? He would do that if he was in his right mind, thinking calmly and when is not panicking. Which he isn't in this situation. The point of the first chapter, when he started crying, was that from that moment, he wasn't thinking straight. He is not the calm and collected Hachiman. He is not even an Hachiman caught off guard, nor angered nor under pressure. If it was one of those situation? Yes, you would still be right. After all, he was calm enough when he found himself shipped who knows where.**

**But the moment than he understood that he was in an impossible world? He simply wasn't thinking. **

**That is why I think what I wrote (the lashing out part, the rest is still up to discuss.) is not OOC.**

**Again, this is only my view of the character. Might be wrong, might be right. The novel never put him in those situations. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Obviously, Marth is suspicious.**

I made a terrible mistake.

What was I thinking? Just mount a horse, take a weapon, and get off on the road? Ah! How stupid of me. I should have known better than anyone that not everything would have gone smoothly.

"So, ugh, how much longer until we arrive, Robin?" I asked, finally bending in front of the invisible and unpredictable force that I was facing against: boredom.

How foolish of me! No matter where you were, in your home, at school, on the road or in another world, boredom was always behind the corner assaulting you in the most absurdist of situations.

One would think that the excitement and/or fear from literally living out of your reality would keep that fearsome beast out of the way.

Well, you would be wrong, because riding on a horse for days on end is extremely boring! Truly, boredom was the true enemy of all humankind, the great equalizer that is rivaled only by death!

"The maps show us that the village should appear when we are out of those woods. I think it's just another hour, Hachiman." She explained calmly, pointing at the map.

I quickly glanced at the map over her shoulder and gave a hum of affirmation...not that I really understood any of that.

I've never read a map in my entire life up until now so I'm new to this thing.

To end this little interaction between the two of us, Marth, riding a horse just beside us, glared at me from behind her mask.

How did I know that? Because that was what she did for the last two days of our travel, in particular when there was any sort of physical contact between the mage and me.

Which, seeing how I was with her on a horse, was many times. Turns out being continuously glared at by the same person over and over for days helps you understand their mood even if they constantly wear a mask.

I am glad that you are able to convey your feelings even with your mask on. But please Marth, now that we have reached an understanding, would you stop doing that? I understand you, please. I know that for some reason, you do not like me.

Is it my eyes? Generally, my beautiful and healthy eyes turn the girls away. Robin, Lissa, and Emmeryn spoiled me and did not comment on them, so it is (not) nice to have a reminder.

Now stop this.

"What is it Marth?" I asked in a slightly mocking tone, prompting the swordswoman to grit her teeth in anger.

Robin ignored us, by now used to this and having lost any kind of hope of us getting along after half of the first day, when we reached the boat.

"Nothing, Mr. Hikigaya. Only wondering how can you be so… improper with a woman. Lady Robin must have the patience of a chosen to endure your presence." She sniped.

How cruel. Your words are as sharp as your sword. I can feel my heart ripped off and my eyes watering in sadness and desperation.

Clearly, you have a way with words that I would never hope to achieve in my miserable life.

"Yeah, I guess so. I think it's called basic courtesy. I am sure you heard of that. Seeing your behavior, I am sure your parents must have told you something about it. But I am sure a mysterious individual such as yourself must be beyond this type of mannerism." I replied.

Maybe for any other poor scrub this would have worked, but I am a proud member of the Acquaintances of Yukinoshita Yukino club! This kind of third-rate insult is nothing compared to what I endured in the span of three minutes against her! Why, you just insulted my mannerism, but Yukinoshita would have implied my sexual deviation, my danger to public decency, and would have clearly degraded my eyes as one of the scums of society. She always was careful to find a way to insult my eyes at every exchange. A bit repetitive, but always effective.

However, that is not the point! The point is, you can't take me down with such low-leveled sentences! My defense is too high for your miserable int!

The blue-haired woman didn't reply, but her mouth visibly twitched downside in a grimace of displeasure.

Satisfied with the result of that little exchange, I internally debated briefly the merits of hugging Robin to make a point. I then immediately discarded the idea and threw it in the imaginary trash can. A trash can that was then set on fire until only ashes remained. To complete the purge I threw water at the remains to clean the rest.

That would be just too embarrassing, now that I am completely in charge of my emotions.

Therefore I continued to wait, letting my mind wander on things. Many times I would think of home. How are the others? Is Komachi fine without me? How much time has passed?

At that point I would quickly diverge my attention from that topic to evade a possible downfall in depression and start wondering how the flow of time worked here.

Why would that be important? Because as an avid reader of every trashy light novel that came out up until now, I had a decent understanding of tropes and the ins of how this world may work.

Time displacement was a popular trend in those days so it would not be too farfetched to think that a day here is a second back home. Then I remember that if something like that would be possible, then the exact opposite would hold true, and I just pray that time just isn't displaced between the two words.

Another thing that I wonder was if Marth and Robin are important people for this world. Marth obviously was, and her interest in Robin makes her important too. Following tropes, her amnesia just means that she is elevated from just an important character to the main character, which would mean that I am doomed to an… let's say an interesting series of events. Three guesses if that Fell Dragon Grima is a part of it, and the first two did not count.

You know what; I'll spoil it right away and say the answer is probably a yes.

Having said that, I was still unsure if treating this world as a story would be a good idea. Yes, there is Magic, princes, and dragons, but I was here. I felt pain, fatigue, and emotions and just dismissing this world as one ruled by tropes of fiction would be incredibly stupid of me.

Therefore, the plan was to hope that I am wrong, but prepare as if I am right. And for plan I mean get the hell out of the 'plot', if the Exalt and Prince Chrom are important characters in it.

From the logic of this world, it would seem likely they are. They are in a position of power and so they could change the world as they wanted.

Plus, get rid of 'Marth'. No way in hell this cross-dresser wasn't important. Masked, mysterious, hunches and actually female. She could be or crazy or extremely involved. Logic would dictate the first, but logic would dictate all of this as a fever dream, which I know it wasn't, so normal logic can go out of the window.

"Here we are." Marth announced quietly, snapping me out from my distraction.

It was only half the truth. Indeed, we were out of the forest. However, I could only see the village in the distance. "We are close. Just half an hour." Robin calculated, much to my relief.

Despite the distance, I could already see some of the houses, farms, and fields that probably let the village survive. It was… "Characteristic." I commented politely.

It was horrible to see for a man of my world. Most of the houses were made of wood, and only a little percentage of them were in stone. I could see only a half-assed defense system, with short barricades at the borders of the village keeping out most of the farm and fields.

It wasn't exaggerated to say that to me, what I saw was the worst settlement I have ever seen in my short life.

Nevertheless, I intellectually knew that this was the norm in this world. I had no way to judge but this village could be in good conditions for the standard of this place.

"Are the villages different in Japan, Hachiman?" Robin asked curiously, hearing my comment.

Marth's head snapped in my direction, probably hearing the unfamiliar name as a piece of information on me. Way to be subtle, girl.

"Umh." I confirmed with a nod. "Villages of this kind are rare, if not extinct. Our villages are generally a bit larger than this, and live not only of agriculture but tourism too." I explained to both of them, knowing that Marth was listening very attentively at the conversation.

As to confirm my suspicions, the swordswoman asked, "What is tourism?"

Ah, of course. This was a foreign term for them. I pondered on how to explain at the two girls this.

"Tourism is a form of profit." I started to explain, catching the attention of the two girls.

"For example, if a town possessed a relic or a monument dedicated to important historical events, people would like to go there and see it. More people means more money spent in taverns and rooms, and more food that needs to be bought and cooked to feed the people arriving from other places."

Robin nodded in understanding, as did Marth. "But would that not be a loss of time for whoever is coming from far away places?" The albino asked.

"Yes, it would. At home, we have faster means to travel. That helps." I said.

Marth intervened: "Your homelands is most peculiar, Sir Hikigaya. Do the people really have time to ignore their work for weeks to relax?" She questioned.

I shook my head in negation: "Not weeks. Days, at best. As I said, our means of travel are faster. That is even if we are mentally willing to travel." I tell her, thinking about the overworking corporate slaves that are my parents.

Marth nodded and let the matter drop, because just then we saw someone approaching us. Now closer to the entrance of the village, it seemed that someone spotted us and sent a sort of ambassador.

"Gosh, mighty unusual seeing yo' Lordship in a place like this!" The 'ambassador' waved jovially, greeting us with a surprisingly formal bow.

The person was a man. And for man, I mean an incredibly big man. He was tall, taller than I was for sure, approaching 6 feet and muscular. Not like a bodybuilder, but his muscles were really defined.

Was it from farm work? Impossible, no one got this ripped from just farming.

He had short, almost shaved, black hair. For such a manly person, genetics did not bestow much of a beard upon him, since I doubt they had the meanings of trim the beard here in the village.

He wore a simple light red tunic, with dark blue stripes, and tight long trousers who've seen better days.

"We are not nobles, good sir." Robin replied politely, smiling at him from the horse. The man blinked dumbfounded, and scratched his head, "Uh, ol' Ardan's eyes must be catchin' up my age." He said, glancing at Marth in curiosity.

I could see where the confusion came from. Marth's mannerism was much similar to Emmeryn, and probably a lot of the nobility.

"So, pardon my effrontery, what are you ladies and man like yourself doin' here in the village?" He asked impudently with a jovial smile.

"We are searching for people and… something that I do not know." Marth truthfully answered the man, looking at me at the last part with a barely hidden glare.

Ignoring the accusation, I intervened, "And before you say, yes, I and my companion would need an inn to rest for the research. This would need some days. I assure you, we do not mean any harm to the village." I explained curtly.

His expression shifted for a moment in something judging, before nodding and smiling pleasantly.

"Ah, I see. Golly, what a relief! Our village woul' happily give ya hospitality." He said brightly.

"Now follow me! I'll tell the others of ya'! Would be happy to see new folks." He explained, starting to walk back towards the gate.

We followed him without hesitation.

We did not take much time to reach the makeshift gate of the village. The man, Ardan, made a sign to the people who were watching the entrance, who then sagged in relief.

As I imagined the man was scouting us. How fearsome.

"Welcome to Centre, yer' Lordness. It is dull, but it is home, as I say!" Our guide said as we dismounted our ride.

Damn it, my ass was sore and my legs were practically asleep. Why must travel here must be this uncomfortable. Where is my cheat item when I was transported into this world? Did I have a cheat ability? Is it teleport? No? I demand a refund! What kind of otherworldly experience is this? I should be an overpowered generic dumbass that gathers a harem!

Oh, right, I am not a dumbass. That explains it. What a shitty world, giving overpowered abilities only to idiots.

In the middle of my rant I was stretching and I observed how our guide, Ardan, was approached by two other figures: a woman and a kid.

The first thing that I noticed was that the kid was wearing a pot on his head. I blinked, flabbergasted. Yep, still there. How unusual.

"What is the plan now, Hachiman?" The voice of the albino mage interrupted my, admittedly rude, staring of the kid.

"First find an inn to sleep in, then start to search for the Gate." I quickly answered. "Do you have anything else in mind?" I asked.

Robin shook her head. "I do not think there is anything here for me." She answered, making me grimace. Because yes, we were here only for my selfish benefit and there was nothing for her to gain here beside the experience. Which was, admittedly, not what she needed now.

"Hachiman? What will you do if you find the Gate?" She asked quietly. I stopped in my tracks.

Of course she would ask that. Honestly, I am surprised that she did not ask before. Maybe 'Marth's' presence stopped her from asking, or maybe she was too scared to ask.

Whatever the case, it was a good question. If I found the Gates here, what will I do? I did promise to help her with her memories after all.

But that would mean staying here, with Undead, a war on the horizon with Plegia, and probably some Divine Dragon Bullshit like Naga and Grima to fight.

Honestly, as of now, the answer was simple.

"We have to find it before." I replied with a shrug, actively ignoring the question.

That is when someone approached us. It was an elder man, on his sixty, if I had to guess, which was probably a miracle by these time's standards.

White, long hair, and a short beard, he politely caught our attention with a fake cough.

The perfect excuse to end the conversation.

Unsurprisingly, Robin glared at me, irritated by my non-answer, but she followed my lead and focused her attention to the elder that wanted to talk with us.

"Yes?" We both asked politely, even if one of us was a lot more irritated than the other. What I assume was the village leader stared at us dumbfounded for a moment, before chuckling to himself, much to my irritation.

I wondered what kind of strange ideas he was having in his senile head.

"Welcome travelers." He finally said after he stopped smiling from his internal and probably inaccurate and horrible joke. "My name is Dara, and I'm the leader of Centre. Ya have to excuse our brats. Rare are the times when we havin' someone new her'." He explained, bowing deeply.

I grimaced at the extremely polite action and looked around. Indeed, distracted by my objective I did not notice the gathering of people, in particular the children, the young boys and girls, around us. When I let my gaze scan them, some of them took a wide step back, much to my internal disgust.

Really now, am I scaring children with those eyes? Yes, they are a bit gloomy, but nothing that extreme like a certain peace obsessed ninja-god corpse.

"It is not a problem." The fake masculine voice of Marth answered for us, and for once, I agreed with her. It was a bit unnerving having all those eyes on me, but I could live with that. They weren't scared or angry at me, contrary to my past experience, just curious.

The novelty would pass soon enough. I was like the mysterious transfer student in a manga. Everyone talked about him and everyone was curious about him.

"Ah, that is good. Our boy Ardan said your Lordness are searchin' for something right? If there is a simple thing we could do for yer Graceness, just ask!"

Marth smiled softly and bowed her head slightly in thanks, "Your hospitality is much appreciated, but we do not need…"

"An inn." I cut the idiot short, looking at what should be the equivalent of a mayor back home in the eyes. Thankfully, he did not seem to react to my eyes, contrary to all the children.

Tsk, look at me, all self-conscious about my eyes. Get a grip on yourself Hachiman.

I ignored the glare that the swordswoman gave me, and continued to focus on the mayor, waiting for his answer.

He nodded and murmured, "Of course, of course.", before looking at one of the people that were behind him. It was a woman in her thirties, with long messy black hairs and expressive brown eyes. She smiled with the charm that you would attribute to the friendly girl next door and took some steps towards us, bowing in greetings.

"Hello, sir. I'm Ciara, nice to met'cha! I'll accompany ya to my inn. It's the only one here but it's the best you'll ever see!" She said confidently, making the two girls already feel more comfortable around her.

I hummed in acknowledgment and asked, "Good. How much is a room?" Making the woman and the mayor's smile vanish. I blinked, unsure of what I said was wrong.

"W-we can't ask ya sir of…" The elder tried to say, and I understood. They feared us, in a way. Even if we said that we were no Lords, Marth's presence and probably our clothes were a clear indicator of our social differences.

It was at times like these that I had a full picture of how different the world was from home. This kind of fear was practically nonexistent in my homeworld. Yukinoshita was, after all, incredibly rich compared to me. And yet our banter was everything but polite and submissive.

"Please, how much?" I repeated, this time making sure to let a bit of emotion filter into my words.

"… three gold at night…" the woman said after a bit of hesitation. I still wasn't sure if they were lowering the price because of our perceived status so I glanced towards Marth, and asked her, "How much should a normal inn cost?"

Evidently this was not her expertise, because she paused a bit to think about it. When she shook her head, I decided that this girl would only be a pain in the ass to me and useless for every other situation beside combat against the Undead.

"I… am not sure. I never used inns." She admitted.

I was going to call bullshit here and there. How? Even I, a loner, someone who doesn't like to get out, passed various nights in hotels. How sheltered was your life to not know this?

I could understand Robin, with amnesia and everything that it comports, but what is your excuse? I am sure Chrom can answer this question, and he is the Prince of this damn kingdom!

With that useless answer, I looked at the only person that I know that I could trust with an honest answer: Ardan.

Noticing my badly hidden irritated gaze, the man in question laughed loudly and patted the child's, probably his son, back, saying: "See Donny? Told ya that yer Lordships were fine! It is five gold, sir!" he answered, making his kid, Donny, blush in embarrassment. Ardan nudged him towards us.

I nodded, thankful for the honest answer and glad that I had a good read of that man's character. I made some quick mathematics and decided that we had more than enough coin to have three different rooms.

"Three rooms for three nights. Are the meals included in the cost?" I asked, this time looking at the landlady of the inn.

Aghast from the quick series of events, the woman just nodded in affirmation. This time I was reasonably sure that she was too surprised to think of lying but I glanced at the man to have assurance.

He chuckled and gave us a thumbs-up, much to my secret amusement, because really, who does that?

"Make way then." I concluded, looking at the two girls to see what they were doing. Unsurprisingly Robin was at my side, waiting patiently for us to finish the exchange. Meanwhile Marth had wandered to talk with some villagers; some of them more intimidated than others, asking questions.

Of what, I had no clue nor did I have any intention to find out.

With that decided, I followed the woman inside the village with the female mage in tow, thinking about what to do once in the room. Just see where the inn is? Rest for a bit and then start searching?

Unfortunately I did not have the luxury to ponder about this matter because Ciara, being the stereotypical friendly villager, started a conversation with us.

"So what's so intrestin' in this place 'nyway? Ya wanted to see nature 'nd stuff?" She asked curiously.

I, being the seasoned loner that I prided myself to be, despite all the appearance of the contrary, effortlessly ignored her and let my gaze wander at the houses, giving the impression of a tourist sightseeing. Alternatively in this situation, of an adventurous and spoiled noble that wanted to see the world and abandoned all his duties to travel the continent.

Being perceptive of my mood, Robin quickly took reign of the conversation and smiled awkwardly at the inn keeper, "Not really. Well, yes, this is a beautiful place but that is not exactly why we came all the way here." She nervously tried to explain without giving much information.

The woman barked a merry laugh and nodded, "None taken! We know our village 's little out of the rest of Ylisse." She reassured, evidently misinterpreting her agitation for something else.

"'s first time I saw a Grimleal coat too. Ya must be a devoted follower, yer Excelencesses. Travelin' in Ylisse with that coat." She commented, effectively catching my attention now.

Before Robin could ask anything, I decided to take her place, "What do you mean, Grimleal? Is it a coat wore only from priests?" I asked a bit quickly, scaring our guide for my sudden interference.

I waited patiently for her to answer the question. I did not have to wait much.

"I dunno? It seems like a Grimleal thing…" She admitted, scratching her head in confusion.

Robin was quick to clarify the misconception, clearly scared of the perspective of being associated with the cult of destruction, "I am not a follower of Grima. I just like the coat. It has really good colors." She quickly defended herself with a bit of more heat than I would have expected. Surprisingly, she really liked that coat. It was true that I never saw her without it these days.

"Ah. Imma sorry yer Ladyness." She hastily apologized, making my companion flush again in embarrassment to her heated defense.

"I-It is nothing. Don't worry." She quickly tried to assure her in panic. And with that awkward moment passed, she lost all the will to continue the conversation.

But what transpired from this little exchange was an important clue to her past. She was, possibly, a faithful Grimleal, faithful enough to walk around in Ylissean territory with a coat that visibly indicated her faith.

That could mean that she was an active member of the Church of Grima, maybe even a Priestess of some kind.

That would probably explain most of the mistrust that she received from the Shepherds and, in particular, Frederick.

Or maybe he was an ass with everyone and Robin wasn't a special case. Who knows? Anyway, that would help Robin when I am out of here.

"Here we are!" The woman said, making me focus on my surroundings again. In front of me was a structure, probably the inn.

As one would expect, it wasn't the most reassuring or comfortable looking sight that a twenty-first-century boy would see. It was barely bigger than a normal house, and it wasn't even made of stone, meaning that a fire would probably put this structure down. There was a big signboard on the top of it, but I could not read this place's language so I could not know the name.

Entering the structure, we stopped at the counter to let Ciara give us the keys to the rooms.

"So, ya take three rooms? Ya sure?" She asked, giving us three keys. I nodded, and only took two of them, confusing the woman.

"Yes. One per person, and we will take it for three nights. I'll pay for me and Robin. Give the last one to Marth when… he comes here." I said, giving the woman thirty gold for the two of us.

It wasn't much for us, really. The Exalt gave us 10.000 Gold. Each. What a generous woman.

"Ye three ar' not together?" Ciara asked curiously, cautiously accepting the money. I briefly wondered what kind of assholes came here if this was their reaction towards people who were supposedly of noble origin. Then I remembered what kind of character I interacted with, like that Virion, and I thought it was a safe assumption that they probably dealt with a one-dimensional arrogant noble created for the only propose to be punched in the face by some hero.

"No." I simply replied.

Taking my short answer at face value, the brunette guided us to our rooms.

The room was substandard, obviously, lacking a bathroom and a proper closet. It did have a comfortable looking bed, to be fair though. It was even perfectly cleaned, as times conceded.

Overall, this seemed like a good room for this world to give us. Good for her, not giving customers empty boasts.

"Perfect." I muttered, much to Ciara's visible delight and pride. I closed the door and took the key. "What time is dinner?" I asked, surprising her.

Glancing around, I noticed that Robin wasn't with me. Observing my surroundings, I noticed an opened door that was in the room at my right. Probably, she was checking her room.

"Ooh. S-some time afta' sunset sir." I heard the innkeeper explain vaguely, much to my irritation. I nodded my confirmation and waited for my companion to finish to check her room, wondering how much it would take for her.

"Yer' Lordiness, there is somethin' that we'd do for yer research? 's it for the Kingdom?" I distantly heard our guide ask, much to my surprise and a bit of annoyance to her friendliness.

I briefly wondered if saying to her that then I would have to kill her to maintain the secrecy, but as quickly as I thought of that, I discarded it. For how much seriously they took us, this would be blown out of proportion by the time I was out of the inn.

So I decided to ask her, "Do you know anything about Outrealms Gates?" I told her, fully prepared to be disappointed by her answer. In fact, I was when she shook her head in negation, but I was surprised when she proposed an alternative, "Mighty sorry sir. But I coul' ask around the village. Sir Ardan or the Shel-the Librarian might know somethin'."

I actually thought about the possibility. It was not a bad idea. If the Gate was around here, it would not be strange that there is some local record of it in the library. On the other hand… "Why Ardan?" I questioned with a frown.

"Sir Ardan was in the military yer Lordship. Fought in the last war beside the late Exalt. Might knew somethin'." She explained with a proud smile "He's the pride of our home. Much of the Gold of the village came from his reward from fightin' in the last war."

I hummed in acknowledgment and decided to give her my consent for this idea.

"Just ask the two of them please. I would prefer that others do not know of this." I answered her after a bit of hesitation. The chances of them knowing were slim, after all, and from Ciara reaction, Outrealms Gates are not common knowledge.

The brown-haired woman bowed in acknowledgment, showing me an amount of respect that I had yet to get used to, much to my embarrassment, and gave her affirmation.

"I'll do that immediately. Good day, yer Lordness." she said, before turning her back and going away.

Seeing how Robin was still in her room, I decided to go to see what she was doing. The door was open, and I could see the interior of the room. It was similar to mine, with the only difference being in the different shades of color of the objects.

Robin was at the center of the room, doing… nothing. She was still, unmoving and without talking, simply looking at the room. Her shoulder was rapidly moving, as if she was breathing rapidly.

"Robin." I called out, surprising her.

She hastily turned towards me and stared at me for a moment, eyes wide and a bit red, observing me like lost at my presence.

"Yes?" she finally asked.

"I'm going out. Do you want to come or are you going to rest here?" I asked quickly, trying to hide my irritation at the loss of time.

"No, no. I'm following you." She quickly replied, almost not letting me finish the question.

Nodding, I didn't wait for other input and impatiently went out of the inn, Robin already at my side when we passed the counter. Once outside, I looked around, unsure of how to proceed. Where are we going to start? East? North? How far from the village?

I thought back on the maps given to us, by now completely stored in my memory for how much I observed them in those days. The forest surrounding the north of the village would be a good start as any, I decided. It would be relatively easy, and less tiresome than the small mountains on the West.

Thinking about them, I did not think we should climb them. Not completely anyway, because for one, we did not have the equipment, if it ever existed here, and I did not have the stamina for it. Besides, I really doubt that it would be at the very top of the mountain. Secret areas are generally in hidden caves or pathways.

"Marth is still talking with the people. What do you think is he asking about?" Robin caught my attention, looking around the village we were visiting. Absently glancing at where she was looking at, I saw the mysterious woman talking stiffly at some of the elder villagers, much to their nervousness. It was probably the mask. What idiot would be unaffected if their interlocutor wore a mask? It is sketchy as hell.

"I'm not sure. She could be asking for something interesting in the zone that could catch our attention. Well, mine. She seems alright with you." I said to her, shrugging.

"She?" Robin asked, noticing my slip. Not that I was trying to keep it hidden from her. I just wanted to keep the Marth charade up because I was not sure how she would react on calling her out. We already did not have the best of relationships.

"Yes. Fake voice, too hoarse to be natural, and her Adam 's apple is too small to be male." I explained, thinking back at the angel that fooled me in thinking he was female.

Ah, Totsuka, how I miss your company. Even you have a well-pronounced Adam's apple, even if your cute face overlooks it.

"What is the Adam's apple?" I heard the amnesiac ask, and I absentmindedly pointed at my throat uplift. To show her better I even gulped a bit of saliva. You should be grateful for the demonstration you know? Swallowing without having nothing to digest is harmful to my stomach, you know?

"Oh." She commented, eyes wide in surprise. She then touched her own Adam's apple, noticing how small and almost invisible it was, compared to mine. "I see…" she murmured.

"And yes, … she seemed a bit guarded with you. But maybe she is asking for her comrades as she said?" She proposed, much to my amusement. Because really, if she really was searching for them, this place would be the last thing she would search. Lost people go to the big and famous city, not a place lost in the woods.

"Maybe." I conceded, deciding to let the matter drop. If Robin wanted to trust her, good for her. I sure was not going to do that any time soon.

* * *

After that, we reached the forest without nothing much happening. The forest was not big or dense, thankfully, but that did not mean that it was easy to scout.

There were still animals in there, and we wasted a lot of time to cautiously wait for them to go away or circling them without scaring them.

Robin suddenly tapped my shoulder, and I stopped.

"There sure are a lot of traps here, Hachiman. This is the sixth I saw." She commented, looking a few meters away, on the ground.

I grimaced, unsure of what she was talking about. I did not see any traps when we were searching, and I wasn't entirely sure about what they would need them for. Traps for hunting? Or traps for intruders?

Following her hand, I searched for this supposed trap and, sure enough, under foliage, there was an almost classic and cartoonish rope. Honestly, I was impressed on how well hidden the trap was. Moreover, if what Robin said was true, which it was, I missed a lot of them.

How embarrassing would it be for me to be the poor sap to be caught in them, instead of some animal?

"Yeah. Probably for hunting." I decided to say, playing as if I knew they were there all along. Robin sure was incredibly observant…

She nodded in affirmation and then started walking again. "You are right. That or in case of bandit attacks. But those are too spread to be in preparation for an attack." She reasoned, and I gave her my assent, trusting her thought.

Before we could move further, we heard cracking behind us. We both tensed, and Robin's hand went immediately at her tome. I instinctively took a few steps back, before Robin gestured me to stop.

"Geez, why did I have to come here? Couldn't Anna have done that? She was closer to this island than I was. Or my sister, she loves to travel! But noo, send poor old Anna, who has to make some business at the Feroxi bor-oh." The female voice suddenly stopped when the figure noticed us.

The red woman, who seemed a bit older than Robin and me maybe in her early twenties, was a redhead with her hair styled in a high ponytail. Everything about her outfit was majorly red, her cape included and her only difference was that there was some armor underneath her clothes, judging by the metallic glint, and yellow stripes on her outfit.

"Hello." Robin greeted politely, bowing slightly and quickly releasing the tome. I released a huge breath, and more simply tilted my head in greeting.

"Hello there!" The woman cheerfully replied, smiling pleasantly. "This is a strange place to take your lady for a date, mister!" She lightly scolded, pointing jokingly an accusing finger at me.

I was not impressed, and simply arched my eyebrow.

Moments passed, and when it was clear that I was not going to deign that comment with an answer, Robin sighed and deduced that, yes, she was in charge to deal with her. After all, I had better things to think about.

"We are not here for a… date, miss." She started, stopping at the unfamiliar world.

"It means a romantic appointment." I quickly explained, while taking out the maps that were given to us by Emmeryn and checking them. We had scouted a lot of the forest by now, and it wasn't even sunset. Finishing seeing the entire forest would take only another hour or two at best.

But until now, we found nothing.

I scowled at the thought, feeling hopeless for this wild chase. Yes, Emmeryn said that this would probably reveal itself as a fluke but… I hoped.

"Oh, okay then? What are you doing here? Hunting?" I heard the woman asking. Robin hesitated before shaking her head, "No, we aren't. We are searching." She admitted slowly.

The woman nodded and said, "I see. Well, I am going back to the village! If you are in need of something, come to the Secret Shop! We will be there all this week, and yours truly will give you anything you need. At a reasonable price, of course!"

I turned again to her and nodded. A merchant then. What was she doing here in the forest was beyond me, but the matter wasn't really important.

"You travel the world?" Robin asked curiously, caught by the wording of the girl in awe.

"Of course! Opportunities will not present themselves if I stay stuck in one place! Especially in times like these!" She earnestly said, smiling joyfully at the thought.

"Good for you." I commented, folding my maps and taking them back to my bag. "We will go." I said. Robin nodded, a bit saddened by the sudden departure, but followed me when I started walking away.

Clearly displeased and unused to the sudden dismissal, the woman decided to quickly reach us, "Jeez, talk about rude. You do not have many friends, do you? I wonder how this lovely girl stays around you!" She commented annoyed.

Faces fleshed in front of me. Familiar faces, friendly faces. I snorted, trying to hide my anger at that comment, "I'm sure I have more than you. At least I have the decency of not pry in personal matters." I replied quickly, with more heat than I wanted to show to her.

The woman winced at the comment, and I sighed. This was not the time for this, "Look, just… I'm not in a good mood. What do you want?" I asked, turning to her.

She gave a little smile and scratched her head, "Nothing much. Just curious, that's all." She admitted and I could easily believe that. We were in a forest, and it was an unusual place to meet someone. There is not a lot of things that you can find in the forest if you are not hunting or searching for herbs or food. And we were certainly not doing any of that.

"As said, we are searching for something. What I am searching for, I prefer not to tell you." I explained simply, continuing my search. I could hear a faint 'ca-ching' sound and I was not sure I wanted to know where that noise came from.

"If you are searching for something, I bet I can find it for you! I am a merchant, and finding goods for our customer is our work and pride!" she said, suddenly zapping in front of us.

"I don't think you can take it to us." Robin answered, surprised by the sudden appearance. "Nonsense! I am the Secret Seller! I will find it, or my name is not Anna!" She said stupidly.

I grit my teeth, not only because she did not know what she was talking about, I could actually understand and forgive that, but for the disgusting sight that I was forced to assist.

This woman, Anna, oozed greed. It wasn't difficult to see. Hell, she wasn't even trying to hide it. This was not her trying to be helpful towards us. No, this woman saw us as a bank. She would give us our aid and we will pay fat cash for her help. How much, I could not know, but judging by her excitement it would be a lot costly. After that, this would secure a pair of loyal customers for her overpriced and probably defective goods.

In other words, she was trying to scam us. Not on my watch.

"I do not think is physically possible for you to do that." Robin commented with a small laugh, making the redhead shake her head, "Nothing is impossible for Anna. I can guarantee that!" she said confidently.

"I do not think you can transport a gate." I commented sarcastically, and the merchant blinked. She tilted her head.

"So you are searching for a gate? Yeah, I don't think I can do that, but I can find it for you!" she said enthusiastically.

"What gate are you searching anyway? I do not think you can find something similar here." Anna asked, and I sighed. No way I was telling her what we were really searching. I did not trust her.

"It is archaeological research for Lady Emmeryn." I quickly lied, glancing at Robin to see her reaction. Surprisingly, she gave none, and simply continued to talk with the scammer. I was still impressed on how good her poker face was.

"The Exalt? Did she send you here? Then there must be something…" The redhead said in contemplation.

I grunted, gladly letting her sort her thoughts and continue the search. "Not really. Lady Emmeryn said that it was improbable to find the Gate here, but she said it was a starting point." Robin confessed.

I felt a pang of insecurity hearing that particular again, but I quickly set it aside. You barely started Hachiman. If there isn't anything in the forest it could be on other places. Do not lose your patience.

"Oh, I see. Well then, seeing how the Exalt decided to assign you two the research for the Schism, I can't really interfere, can I? I wish you good luck! Oh, and tell me if you find something. It could be a good spot for set up a shop!" She said, smiling brightly with the same glee of when she was trying to force us her help.

I had no idea of what the hell this Schism was, but for now, I just let her believe that.

"We will, if we meet again." The Tactician promised with a smile, waving.

"Oh, do not worry! I will know if you tell one of my sisters! We are all merchants, and you will find them for sure if you travel!" She reassured.

I shuddered, thinking at the image of another person like her. Hopefully, she is very different from Anna.

"Goodbye!" She waved, turning her back. "Bye, Miss Anna!" Robin politely answered.

I did not give a verbal response, but I lazily waved at her figure, uncaring if she caught it or not.

"Well, she was a bit strange. But we have to move, right Hachiman?" Robin commented, looking at me.

I nodded, glad that at least she had the mind on the right track. We continued our search.

* * *

It was with a heavy heart that I retired towards the village without a trace of the Outralms Gate. Of course, this was only the first day of research, but I wanted to get home as soon as possible.

"We'll search tomorrow Hachiman. Do not give up yet." Robin quietly reassured me, much to my embarrassment. I was really in a bad mood if she could tell I was down. I normally kept it hidden better than this.

"Thanks." I replied, trying to give her a small smile. I was unsure on how well I succeeded since I am pretty sure my smile is comparable at a murderer's, in accordance with my club president, but she did not seem to have a negative reaction, so that was good.

She simply smiled back.

"Golly, this is a really good catch!" A young voice said in front of us. Looking, I saw a flying pot moving in the bushes. "Ma' and Pa' 'll be mighty happy of this! We're havin' meat for tomorrow too!" I heard the flying pot comment happily. The bushes cracked, and the pot shot up, revealing a young boy with moss of black hair hidden by the pot. He wore blue, worn-out clothes and grey pants.

When he noticed us, he froze in his steps, mouth opened in shock. He immediately bowed to us and nervously greeted, "Or-ehm g-good morn-no evening yer Lordshipness."

I sighed, already figuring out how this interaction would go. "Yo kid. You are Ardan's son right?" I greeted casually, hoping that this would relax him. It worked, a bit.

Hearing the strange and casual greeting, the boy stopped shaking and looked at us. He was still nervous, but at least he wasn't on the verge of fainting.

"Yes. That's my Pa' sir. I'm Donny, ehrg, Donnel. But everyone call me Donny. What can I do for ya sir?" He asked, making the approximation of a militaristic salute, much to my amusement.

Wait, do they have the same salute here like back at home?

"Hello Donnel." Robin greeted back politely, smiling kindly at the kid. He actually relaxed at her voice. Way to go, Robin, your social skills proved once again better than mine. If I didn't know you better, I would say that you are like that damn blonde.

"We were just coming back to the village. We finished our research for today and we are tired. Were you hunting?" She asked, noticing the three dead rabbits in his hand.

I almost wanted to vomit at the sight of the blood and the corpses, but I kept it in. It was just another reason to go back home at once.

"Yes Milady! I'm providin' the food this week. Pa' is occupied with the camp, yer Ladyness." He obediently explained.

She nodded in understanding, "That is very good of you, Donnel. I am not sure I could catch that much food at your age." She commented politely. The boy blushed in embarrassment and scratched his head "Gosh, it's nothing. I just place the traps, that's all." He tried to shrug it off, but it was clear he was very pleased with the compliment. Hook, line and sink, as they say.

"So it was you who placed the traps all over the forest?" My companion asked, honestly impressed by the information. I tilted my head, looking at the kid, unsure on how to take this. They were very well hidden after all. I missed all of them, and while I did not like to brag, I was extremely proud of my observation skills. Sight was, after all, a part of my 108 Skills that I perfected during my life.

"They were well hidden. I am sure I missed some of them." Robin complimented, and I nodded in affirmation.

"Thanks! Pa' taught me everything I know! He's better than me, but I wanna be even better!" He said excitedly, practically sparkling at the declaration.

God, this kid was too bright for me.

"I am sure you will, in time. Did your dad finish his work?" She asked, making the boy blink and think about it. "Pa's strong. Yeah, he shoulda have finish by now." He confirmed, nodding in conviction.

I had no idea if what he said was true. I knew nothing of how working on a camp worked, how much time it takes or how big the camp was. Finishing at sunset could be the norm, or it could be something that couldn't be possible.

Anyway, knowing that Ciara should have talked with him, I was more than willing to stop by and ask him if he had some new pieces of information to share. Talking to an NPC is generally a good way to gather information in games, after all, and this world was too much similar to a fantasy game.

"Can you take us to him?" I asked the boy, who could not be older than my cute little sister; much to his and Robin's surprise. Seeing his curiosity written all over his youthful if dirty face, I added, "I need to ask him something."

Donnel nodded nervously, probably unused to our presence, "Of course yer Lo-" "Just call me Hachiman." I cut him short, getting tired of the very awkward and very strange way the villagers took to calling us.

Seriously, Lordiness? Ladyship? Did they come up with those? That is just awful.

"I-I can't-" The farmer stammered in panic, and I rolled my eyes, "You can. I told you so." I stopped him again, if more aggressive than before. Thankfully, the boy had decent self-control, and did not panic in the face of my mild rage, like I would have expected, and so he just nodded, and confirmed, "Ok, Lord Hachiman, Lady Robin."

I sighed, and Robin chuckled at our address, but I let the matter go. It was better this way than the alternative.

"Lead the way, Donnel." Robin said, and the boy immediately jumped into action, making way towards the village.

"So, Donnel, since when did you start helping your parents?" Robin asked the farm boy curiously, making him glance back towards us.

"Since I was ten. Pa' started tellin' me about helpin' since before though. Started trainin' at seven, I think. Golly, does it feel like long ago…" He said smiling fondly at the memories.

"You must be good if you started so young then." Robin complimented, making the boy blush again. With all this blushing, I wouldn't be surprised if the little farmer got a crush on her. Wouldn't that be tragic?

After all, Robin was a kind girl. Up until now, she gave kindness to everyone. She doesn't like you, boy! It's a trap, trust me on this!

"Naw, Pa' is way better than me." He deflected, scratching his check-in embarrassment. Robin lightly chuckled, and confirmed, "Of course he is. He is a farmer since long before you. You will be like him in time." She reassured, looking at me.

I blinked, unsure of what he wanted from me. I wasn't part of the conversation, after all. Did you want to give him my support? Fine. This kind of thing is easy and worthless in the long run. I barely know him.

So I nodded in what I hoped was an encouraging way, making the young villager beam in pride. I almost wanted to laugh at how easy and earnest this kid was. If those compliments had such a great effect on him, he would be easily strayed away by criminals.

"How is the life here?" My companion continued to ask, trying to fill the silence. Being the friendly and helpful boy that he was, Donnel didn't hesitate to reply "Nothin' much. Helpin' Ma' and Pa' at home, huntin' and helpin' at the village. We're all close. It's good, if dull." He admitted.

"Why, you don't like it here?" the albino asked, but I had an idea of what the farmer was going to answer. Predictably, the boy shrugged and shook his head: "Naw, I like helpin' Pa' and Ma', but Pa told me a lot of stories. I wanna go out too, ya know? See the world, like Pa' did when he was a soldier. I wanna follow his teps, but Pa didn't want to…" he told us, putting at the last bit.

That was pretty much what I expected. He was a fifteen years old boy, after all. A capable farmer that wanted to experience the entire world, instead of being cooped in this place. What I was surprised about, though was the complete lack of disdain towards his home that generally characterized this kind of character.

Which was a plus in my book, because it meant that he was grateful for what he had and didn't resent his 'luck'. I already liked him more for this.

"He probably didn't want you on the battlefield. " I commented, cutting a similar reply from the Tactician. I scowled when I heard her talk and quickly looked at her to convey my wordless apology for the interruption. She simply nodded in acceptance.

Oh, Robin, you really have the patience of a saint. If Yukinoshita was here she would have insulted my manners, while Yuigahama would have pouted. The less I thought about what the professor would have done, the better it would be for my stomach.

"I know… but I don't know what else to do… ", He lamented, much to my amusement. Yes, the kid had a good head on his shoulder, but it was still a kid, after all. "I don't wanna only travel. I need to get some money too for the village, ya' know? Pa' share ended years ago, and helpin' would be good for the village." He confided, surprising me.

Help the village uh? This kid was incredibly altruistic, it seems.

"I am sure you will find a way Donnel. You seem like a smart boy. Joining the military is not the only method to acquire money while traveling." Robin reassured positively, making the black-haired villager nod with a big smile.

On the other hand, I was wondering if it really was a good idea for a kid to travel alone at his age, especially with the Undead around. Maybe age wasn't a problem in this world, hell, if it was legal to trying to be the very best like no one ever was at the age of ten in one world, it wouldn't be a stretch thinking fifteen was a perfectly good age for independence, contrary to my country's standard.

"You should be careful though." I advised him, making him turn towards me. "Do you remember the purple sky days ago?" I questioned, prompting a nod. "Yeah, it was freaky all right. Gosh, somethin' fell from that." Donnel commented.

I nodded in confirmation, "Yes. Those were Undead. They are dangerous, alone or in a group. If you really want to travel, you need to know how to fight. And possibly, being in a group." I explained, making the albino confirm my words.

"Hachiman is right." She said, "They are difficult to kill. Now that I think about it, we should tell everything to you guys, in case of an attack."

"Yesh, are they really that dangerous?" The kid asked, trembling a bit. I nodded, and Robin confirmed, "Yes. Even knights have some difficulties." She said, making him gulp. He then muttered something, but I didn't catch what.

"Donny! Yer Lordiness!" A voice boomed, distracting me from my thoughts. I blinked and noticed how our group was now in front of a small house, with Ardan approaching us, and his wife looking extremely worried.

Once they were in front of us, the woman immediately bowed deeply and caught her son, forcing him to do the same. "S-sir, is everything alright? Did our Donny do somethin'? Foolish child, bow and apologize!" She fretted, making me sigh in exasperation. This was going to be a gag for a while, isn't it?

"He has not done anything wrong." Robin was quick to reassure the woman with a practiced smile, already used at this kind of situation. And wasn't it sad?

That seemed to calm the woman, even if she was still bowing at us. "Jeez Ma', I didn't do anything…" The boy lamented, massaging his pained neck for the forced bow.

"You may rise." I added, making the mother obediently face us, much to my discomfort.

"What can I do for ya, yer Lordiness?" The ex-soldier asked, unaffected by our presence, contrary to his wife and his son.

"Did Ciara talk to you?" I curtly asked, and he nodded. "Yeah. Sorry sir, but I got nothing on those Gates. First time I heard of 'hem." he confessed, shaking his head in negation. Surprisingly he did seem sincerely crestfallen about the situation, but that did not matter to me now. I glared, anger rising in me facing of another dead end, making the woman and Donnel take some steps back, but I reigned it.

The memories of my breakdown were still fresh in my mind, shaming me and making sure that I would not lose my composure in front of this world. Not again. I was better than that.

"I see. Sorry for the inconvenience then." I apologized, bowing slightly. Ardan laughed and nodded, dismissing my previous actions. "'S fine kid. Wish I coulda helped you more." He admitted.

I hummed, and let the matter drop. There was no need to hang on those negative emotions, after all.

"Sir Ardan?" Robin called, after moments of silence. The man looked at her, and Robin's gaze turned serious. "I do not know if Marth already told you the same thing, but I need to tell you something." She explained.

I sighed and nodded. Yes, we needed to tell them about the Undead.

This would take a while.

* * *

"There is nothing here." The fake voice of Marth said, much to my irritation.

"I noticed." I replied curtly, looking around for a sign, something about the Outrealms Gate. Obviously, no matter how much I pleaded, I could not magically conjure what I was searching for.

This was the second day, and I still didn't find nothing.

"This is a waste of time..." I heard the disguised woman complain. I didn't even know if that was supposed to be unheard from me, because if it was, she really sucked at secrecy.

"You are welcome to go away. Nobody asked you to accompany us." I shot back, making the swordswoman flinch. "From what I remember, you asked to come with us. What do you want anyway?" I grumbled, irritated by the second failure.

Was it only to complain and waste my time? Because that was all you were doing. I thought you were a relevant plot character, don't you have better things to do?

"I simply wish to stay with Lady Robin for a while. I do not trust you with her." She answered, trying to force some strength in her words. How naïve of her.

"You barely know her, and she barely knows you. We already went over this. Your care is suspicious and even unhealthy for you. Are you a creep?" I asked, making her grit her teeth. She didn't move to attack or hit me though, so that was a big plus and encouraged me to continue the verbal assault.

"Didn't you have some comrades to find? Are you sure you have the time to perv on her?" I added, making Marth blush in embarrassment and rage. Before she could answer, I heard a sigh of exasperation from my side, and that was my clue to stop my bullying.

Yes, I was man and self-aware enough to admit that what I was doing was bullying, but I did not feel an ounce of remorse on it because the blue-haired woman was just that suspicious and annoying.

We were, once again, near the village without having found any kind of trace, and today, Marth decided to accompany us on our search, despite my protests. It didn't help that Robin did not put much of a resistance against Marth presence, and tried to talk a lot to her during our trip, trying to ask her about her past.

It was barely past midday when we decided to come back to the village to have or lunch, because damn it, I paid for my three meals and I was going to have those three meals! Even in another world, no way in hell I was going to waste precious money on nothing.

"Where is everybody?" Robin asked, noticing the absence of the people around the town.

"Probably eating." I answered with an uncaring shrug, unsure of what there was of preoccupying on this situation.

I could not see it, but I was sure that Marth grimaced while it was looking around, "Maybe. But I do not hear a sound from inside the houses." He disagreed, posing her hand on the hilt of her blade.

I openly scoffed at her consideration, but I decided to pay more attention to my surroundings. And, unfortunately, I had to admit that the silence was unnatural. That did not bode well.

"Shit." I said looking around, trying to find some clue of what was happening. Robin grimaced, and added, "There are some people towards the center of the village." She told us.

How could she tell, I could not know, but we decided to follow the Tactician lead and walk towards the central plaza.

Surprisingly, she was right. A massive concentration of people was concentrated there, surrounding in a semicircle something or someone. Even from a distance, I could feel the tension and the fear that oozed from them. I did not like it. At all.

"Let's go check." Marth ordered us, abandoning for just that moment the male tone. Only for that time, I nodded and followed her command without much of a protest or a sound.

When we were behind the group, Robin took the initiative and asked, "What is the problem?" The villager, a middle-aged man with brown hair, stammered, "Y-yer Gracefulness, i-it is bandit, milady. T-they are talking with the mayor."

I blinked, unsure of how to react. Bandits? Thieves in the open? What? Why?

"Let us pass." I heard Marth say, much to my surprise. Seeing Robin follow her, I immediately stopped her. "Stay hidden. Don't be stupid." I said to her. She blinked and nodded, and while we continued to go across the crowd to have a better view, we took a different route so we would not be spotted.

Once we had a clearer view, I saw three men at the center of the plaza. Two were on in front of each other one of which I immediately recognize as the mayor. The other was a big and muscular man, wearing tatters and skins as an outfit and some tribal sign on his face. It was easy to see that he was a stereotypical bandit.

"… are we clear? You better have the goods for tomorrow morning, or we will torch this place to the ground and take everything else. My lads are quite needy and we didn't have company for a bit." I heard him say.

The third man was easily recognizable. Arden took a step beside the mayor and commented, "And what made ya think we'll do that? We can easily kick yer butt and let you scram like the cowards ya are." He commented.

The bandit, probably the leader judging by the fact that he was talking to the mayor, wasn't impressed by the threat. Taking the ax from his shoulder, he grunted and said "If you don't want to cooperate, then… this'll happen." He said, making the farmer tensing and ready to move away from an incoming attack.

The bandits swung his ax, spraying blood. The mayor's blood. "Gah!" Dara coughed, falling on his back. Someone screamed, and everyone started running. Women and children ran towards their houses, trying to find refuge. Some men reached for their major, probably trying to help him and prevent his death from blood loss.

Ardan roared in anger and immediately assaulted the laughing bandit leader; punching him in the face and making him stumble back in pain. The other bandits immediately sprung into action, taking out their weapons and circling the zone, preventing the few courageous men trying to help Dana to escape.

The leader went for another swing, trying to behead the ex-soldier, but the man expertly dodge the attack and lunged again for his enemy's face. The punch sent him on the ground in pain and the bastard nursed his hopefully broken jaw. He glanced at his few companions, who understood the order and circled Ardan, trying to kill him here.

"Pa'!" I heard Donnel scream in despair, and that was when Robin took out her Thunder tome and immediately launched a spell towards one of them, electrifying the nearest mob that tried to kill the man. The mob screamed in pain and fell on the ground like a puppet without a master, pained but still alive.

"Rodrick, mage! Gah!" I heard one of them scream, before being downed by Marth, who killed him on the spot.

"Give up now, dastard! Or the next one will be you!" I heard her scream in rage, sword ready to cut everyone down. I had no doubt that she would act on the threat. I felt it.

Evidently feeling the same, the leader, Rodrick, took a step back, switching his gaze between Marth Ardan and Robin, who now was beside the two fighters.

"Shit, soldiers. Retreat!" He screamed, making the small group of three run towards the entrance of the village.

Nobody stopped them.

In all of that, I just stared at the scene, too shocked to move, be it away or towards the action. I breathed heavily and took some steps towards Robin, unsure of how to react or what to do.

Like a zombie, I stumbled shakily towards the group, who was now trying to nurse the wounded man.

"Dana, ye' hear me?" I heard Arden ask, now on one knee and keeping his head high. Around him, Robin, Marth, and some other men were simply watching, unsure of what to do.

"Do you have a cleric? A doctor? Go to call him. We need help with this." I heard my partner instruct a woman, Ardan' wife, I noticed. Donnel was still here, watching a dying man in horror.

"Damn that dastards, if I intervened sooner…" Marth murmured in shame, punching the ground.

Looking around I saw the two bandits downed by my two companions. One was immobile, dead, with a pool of blood soaking his body. The other, still alive, was trying to crawl away in the confusion.

The sight snapped me out of my horror. Hell no. He wasn't going away from this.

"Robin! He's trying to escape!" I snapped, calling the attention of the group. Robin turned around, and the bandit cursed now that the attention was on him, trying to crawl faster.

Another thunder spell made him stop, hopefully K. him. I walked towards the mayor's group, now a bit more in control of myself. I gulped, seeing the blood.

"Tie the bastard. I-if he is… alive, do not kill him. W-we need him." I ordered some of the men, who just accepted the order.

"How…how's the wound?" I asked quietly, my eyes locked in horrid fascination at the scene of the dying man. "Not too bad, but too much blood loss…" Ardan summarized expertly.

I bit my lip, my mind now blanks on any thought. Think think! What do we do in this…

"Stop it. Use your shirt." I quickly said. I glanced at Donnel, who was still watching the scene. "Donny. You hear me?" I called, snapping his attention back to me. "Y-yes?"

"Go take some freshly cleaned cloth. No matter from who. Now." I said, as gently as I could. I wasn't sure how much it was, giving the situation, but Donnel did not hesitate to follow the order.

Good boy.

With him out of the picture, I turned back to the situation. The old man had a shirt covering his wound tightly, reducing the blood loss. I recognize that it was Ardan's shirt.

"W-we will change it when Donnel comes back. Dirty clothes can w-worsen his condition." I explained, receiving a round of nods of understanding.

I thought about something else that could be important to say. "Head on the ground. Do not move him." I added remembering the basics of first aid.

"If we have to move him, I want at least three men. One on his head, one on his legs and one under his back. It is better to move slowly, so more blood isn't lost. Am I clear?" I asked, receiving another round of approval.

Donnel came back running with a bundle of shirts, and as quickly as he arrived, the men already changed the improvised bandage and started to take him towards the village doctor.

Seeing him being took away. I did not move. I felt a pat on my shoulder, and Ardan smiled weakly at me. "Thanks kid. Good job." I heard him say in my daze before he followed the group to the doctor, Donnel in tow.

Robin and Marth remained with me, observing the scene. The albino took my hand and tightened her grip, trying to comfort me, while I stared at the body of the bandit and the trail of blood left by the mayor's body.

My vision swayed.

I fell on my knee and vomited my breakfast.

* * *

After emptying my stomach in front of the two girls, I was in a good enough shape to follow the two towards the doctor's house. Between us there was only silence, even Marth didn't comment on my earlier breakdown.

Robin, like always, was right beside me, literally holding my hand, trying to comfort me. Even if now I was in much better shape than before, I didn't want to let her go.

I was sane enough to understand that this was extremely awkward and intimate for me to do, but I knew her presence was welcomed, and I suspected that she too needed the comfort. If I had to guess why she needed it, it was to reassure herself that I wasn't going to regress back to the maddened state of days ago.

I was grateful that Marth would let the matter go. She still looked distressed by our contact, even worse than before, but she did not comment on that, lost in her worries and thoughts.

Once we arrived in front of the house where the trail of blood stopped, we saw an animated group of men and women talk, some worried, some scared, some resigned or determined.

Ardan was trying to calm them, with his son and his wife at his side, but the agitation was still high despite the threat gone for the day.

Marth inhaled, trying to calm herself, and took some wide, strangely loud, steps, walking confidently in front of the crowd. Some of them caught her presence, promptly calming down with only her presence alone, but others did not notice her or simply did not care.

That did not last long.

"Enough!" Marth commanded, her voice loud and authoritative, catching the attention of all the people in the crowd. Impressively, everyone stopped talking, focusing their attention to the young swordswoman.

"What is the situation." The blue-haired woman asked, loud enough for everyone to hear, but without screaming. She seemed used at this kind of attention, making me raise a lot of questions that I really wasn't in the mood to search for an answer for.

Ardan coughed, implicitly taking for himself the task of talk for everyone, and answered, "Chief Dana's alive, thanks to the lad's intervention. The prisoner's awake and told us there are another twenty-five brigands in the group. We believe they will attack soon. Probably tomorrow."

Without showing any kind of emotion, Marth nodded and processed the information. "Who wants to fight?" She asked, catching the complete attention of my companion, who scanned the crowd in search of their number.

"I'm in." Ardan called, much to his wife's displeasure. She didn't voice her opposition, but her worry was written all over her face. Beside him, I counted only three other people who raised their hands, probably people who were trained to fight. Other than them, five hands rose, more shaken and insecure, people who never touched a weapon before but were ready to fight anyway.

"Anyone else?" Marth asked, without giving any type of judgment.

"I-I'll do it sir!" The young voice of Donnel, the fifteen years old farmer said, much to his mother more vocal displeasure. "Donny!" she chastised him, but the young man protested as vocally as she did.

Much to my surprise, Marth simply nodded, accepting his proposal. I stepped towards her, furious at her passive acceptance, and screamed, "Are you cr-"but I was stopped by a grip on my hand. Robin shook her head, much to my shock.

"It is fine. It is his decision." She said, much to my displeasure. I was quick to counter her, "He is too young! He can't decide yet!"

"We need all the people we can gather, or everyone could die, Hachiman." She said resolutely, making me grit my teeth in frustration.

"But-" I tried to counter, but the girl stopped me and gestured towards the crowd. Other people, even a group of women, were now ready to risk their life in this mission. Maybe the kid inspired them. Maybe they just need a bit of time to steel themselves. The fact was, now we had eighteen people to defend the village, Donnel and Robin included.

I did not count myself in. There was no way I could be useful in this. Despite the tips from Kellam, I was no master. I would probably be in their way. Moreover, I still was not sure if I was ready to… kill.

Kill. That cursed word. Only thinking about that word made the bile rise.

"Do not worry, Hachiman. I'll make sure nobody dies." Robin comforted me, leaving my hand. I watched her stepping towards Marth, starting to talk and plan with her and the group.

I was seething at the sheer stupidity of that statement. I would make sure that everybody survive? How! Most of them were as novice as me! They could not fight properly! Of course they would die!

"What about some traps? What can you make?" I heard her ask the group. Donnel answered, making his father laugh and nod in acceptance. Robin replied and pointed to two people and the young farmer. She ordered something to them and the group immediately split up.

I watched powerless to everything going on, unable to think of something, anything to help them. Or even better, to stop this. Because there was no way she could pull off a victory without casualties.

I did not know how good Rodrick's group was, but it wasn't a stretch thinking they were at least used to use weapons. The only way a normal person could win in a one on one fight would be if the group were disarmed.

However, that wasn't possible. How could we disarm their entire group?

Magic, I immediately thought. But we had only one mage, and I doubt Robin had a way to do that, or she would have already told the group. What I know she could use was fire, air and electricity. None of them could help in that way.

…

I grinned.

Or maybe there was…

I reached the group, waiting patiently waiting for them to finish their planning session. Ardan and Marth were the only one to notice my newly added presence in the group, and the older man asked: "Decide to join us, sir?"

I snorted "Nope. I just want to talk with Robin." I replied derisively because there was no way in hell I was going to dirt my hand in blood. This world will not destroy me. Not anymore.

"So you are going to let them fight for themselves. Have you no honor, Hikigaya?" Marth commented. Despite the harsh words, the woman's tone wasn't angry. Yes, there was disappointment, but there was less judgment that I would have thought she would give me in her.

"I would only be in the way," I answered with an incredibly relaxed shrug. "I never fought and never used a weapon in my life, while Robin clearly has." I explained the two.

"Yet, I heard you defeated a group of Ri-Undead when they appeared." The swordswoman replied, turning towards me, almost in challenge.

I snorted, because calling that a fight was extremely stupid in my opinion, "Yeah. However, I had Robin and her magic back me up, her swords in hand and our enemies were literally brain dead. I am sure this is wonderful preparation to fight other thinking humans."

My answer did not repelled her, who shook her head in delusion, hearing my thoughts, "So are most of them. And yet, they had the courage to fight for their village." She countered voice full of passion and pride.

My smile died and, facing her, I tiredly replied, "And I am sure their courage will shield them when they are unable to evade or parry a sword in their gut."

The comment seemed to hit her more deeply than I thought it would. And yet, she stubbornly diverted her eyes and murmured, "I am sure Lady Robin's plan will keep everyone alive."

I vehemently disagreed with the notion. Did she not understand what she was saying?

She was practically preaching that only Robin could save them. If someone died, the fault laid only on her and her only. Did she understand how selfish what she said was? How both of them were?

I had no idea where all her faith came from, but this just forced all those lives in her hands.

But I did not say that. I did not think this would reach her. Those words would not break her irrational belief that Robin would make things better.

So I did not tell her that. Instead of attacking Robins capability, I went for another angle. "A plan is only as good as the people that act on it." I said. I did not know where I heard this saying. It could be from a novel or a manga. It could be a quote from the Art of War.

Nevertheless, it seemed to have the desired effect. Marth did not reply.

That is when Ardan decided to intervene in our conversation, "But you have an idea. What's it?" He asked.

I hummed in confirmation and said, "I have one. Not sure if it is possible though. How many mages do we have, besides Robin?"

Ardan grimaced, and shook his head.

Instead, Marth surprisingly gives an affirmative nod, "I am proficient with it. I simply prefer to use my sword." She admitted, looking at me in curiosity.

I nodded, grinning satisfied at the good news. Two people were better than one. More would have helped, but it is manageable. "If I can make this work, you should not need to use your sword." I said confidently, much to her surprise.

"Robin." I called my companion out. The albino turned towards me, and tilted her head, "Yes Hachiman?" she asked.

I walked to her "You finished? I need to check something. Do you have some time?" I asked.

She nodded, and immediately left the others with a curt wave of her hand. "Yes. What do you have in mind?" She asked, strangely merry.

Her confidence was strangely contagious, because I surprised myself smiling with the same amount of excitement back.

"Follow me."

* * *

If one had asked me what would be the tensest moment of a battle, I would have answered that obviously, that was a trick question and the worst moment was always before the battle, when you are waiting, and that you should stop reading too many historical novels Zaimokuza, you bastard!

Today, I discovered that I was right.

I had barely slept this night. It was not only that I could barely fall asleep because of the anxiety and the fear of the morrow, but that even when I fell asleep, I woke up easily and with barely half an hour of rest.

Fortunately, I was not the only one with this problem. Once dawn passed, when I was too tired of trying to get a decent night of sleep, I just prepared my gear and got out of my room to walk around the village.

Surprisingly, Robin was already awake, eating absentmindedly her breakfast. Despite her clear worries, she quickly took notice of me, "Good morning, Hachiman."

I yawned and waved, greeting her back and sat in front of her. "Sup." I called her. "Problems sleeping?" I found myself asking, still in a daze from my drowsiness and lack of sleep.

Robin did not answer immediately. She clearly hesitated, as if she was frightened of answering me, but in the end, she nodded. I did not understand why she took so much time to admit it.

"I did too." I admitted easily, exhaling and resting my back on the wooden chair.

Robin bit her lips, looking unsure of what to say or add. She maintained the silence, which I had no hurry to break, pleasantly relaxing as much as I could in this situation.

Looking at the window, I saw people already walking around in the streets. Predictably, all of them were tense and nervous, ready to jump at the first sign of danger. I could not blame them. I was in a similar state now.

"Are you scared, Hachiman?" I heard the tactician suddenly ask.

Diverting my gaze from the people outside, I focused my attention on her and nodded without hesitation "Of course. You aren't?" I answered.

She slowly shook her head in affirmation, and I had the impression that she feared some kind of negative reaction from me, judging the way she hesitated to admit it.

"Last time…" She started, hesitating a bit. She stopped and thought, unsecure on something, but in the end, she continued "Last time you nearly died, Hachiman. I-it was really close." She explained, shaking at the memory.

I grimaced, thinking back at the 'last time', the Undead attack. She did save me from an ax in the back, didn't she? "What if they die? I can only help one and… I do not want to lose you." She said, trembling in fear.

I ignored the romantic sense that a person could take from the phrase, and I actually bothered to think on what she just said. The results were immediate and made me feel uneasy.

Because she just admitted that between me and every other person in the village, she would choose me over them. And wasn't that a scary thought? Being in some twisted way responsible for the life of the people.

Then again, that was what Robin had in her hands when she planned everything. The lives of everyone here. If such a roundabout way made me feel this bad, I could not imagine what she could be feeling.

I blinked.

Actually, that was a lie. I could easily understand what she felt. Because we were in the same boat. Maybe this was the reason she even bothered to ask my opinion.

"We just have to make our plan work. We checked yesterday, and it was possible. If you and Marth do what you did yesterday, everything will be fine. If not fine, at least easier." I said, getting up from my chair.

She followed my example, and immediately was at my side when I approached the door. "If it fails…" I added, getting out from the inn, "… we have to fight." I said sourly, touching with my weapon unease. The mere thought of fighting made me grimace.

Robin sighed, accepting my words. Strangely, she was smiling.

I could not understand why. I did not comfort her, because everything I would have come up with would be a lie. And I despise lying at people I care for. So I didn't. Not to her. After all, there was no right answer to those fears. Everything would be all right was only an empty promise crafted with the only objective of making others feel better.

Yet, she was relieved.

We went towards the entrance, both in order to check the various traps made by Donnel, and verify my little surprise for Rodrick's bandits.

However, something was bothering me. Something I needed to ask my companion. It accompanied me since yesterday, since she jumped in the danger to help the chief of this village.

"Robin." I called her. She looked at me, waiting for my follow up.

I had a lot to ask. Numerous questions that plagued me. "Why?" was instead the only thing I could tell her. Why did you jump in the danger? Why did you put yourself in charge of the tactics of this improvised militia? Why did you promise me that nobody would die? Why do you care?

Somehow, she understood all those unsaid questions. This did not surprise me much anymore; I knew she was incredibly perceptive.

Knowing that, I was surprised when she answered without thinking or hesitating. "Because that was what you would have done, if you could." She explained.

I stopped breathing. My mind was in chaos, my path of logic completely disrupted, because I did not expect that answer. It was a lie, after all. I would have run. I would have abandoned them and get myself to safety, because I did not want to die.

I didn't know how much time I remained in that state of confusion, but when I eventually got myself together and started to reply and deny (strongly deny) that statement, I was interrupted.

"Lady Robin, Lord Hachiman, sir!" A young, familiar voice called out to us.

Instinctively, I turned towards the origin of the voice, and I saw a flying pot running towards us. I quickly rationalized that the pot could not run alone, and my eyes caught Donnel approaching the two of us with an enthusiastic smile, an iron lance awkwardly in his hand.

Once he was in front of us, he saluted, trying and failing to look like a soldier. Admittedly, it was fun to watch.

"Everythin's in order, sir! Pitfalls're perfectly hidden, and huntin' traps are positioned." He reported, making his voice seem as professional as possible.

I tried very hard to not cringe at his deepened voice, my mind involuntary flashing back at my Dark Days.

Thankfully, a loud laugh interrupted my or Robin replies, and we saw Ardan reaching his son with a more composed step. He was no different from yesterday, wearing the same clothes as last time we saw him. The only noteworthy addition was that he was carrying a shovel on his back.

I have no idea what he had in mind.

"Brat's excited. He's pumped to see if his traps work. Sorry if he's botherin' you." He explained, patting his son back. Donnel blushed and grumbled, lamenting his father presence, but did not contradict him.

"That is good, Donnel." Robin said, following up his report with a satisfied smile. "What about the preparations for Hachiman's plan?" She asked, making the young man beam in pride.

"Everythin's set! Lady Anna was happy to sell us the materials!" He quickly answered.

I looked at the only adult in the group and asked, "Marth?"

The dark haired man pointed at the entrance. Here, Marth was standing beside the watchers, already in her usual gear.

"Lady Marth just arrived. Helpin' with the watch." He explained, grinning.

"Lord Marth…" Donnel corrected, strongly emphasizing the Lord, "…'s watchin' too. He told me that I was good, and that I could become a great soldier!" he brightly said.

I heard the hidden 'do you think so too?', but I was too busy to quell the sudden surge of anger towards the masked bitch. Because what the fuck was she thinking? He was what, fifteen? A child, like my sister! Why are you encouraging him to go to war?

Ardan, on the other hand, simply blinked, surprised by the sudden news. "Wha'?" He dumbly asked, before turning pensive.

Thankfully for Marth, I had no time to answer the boy or doing anything rash, because, as the plot demanded, at that moment the watchers called us.

"Rodrick's bandits! They're here!"

Immediately, whoever was in range tensed. Villagers who were not fighting immediately started running away, evacuating the zone as planned, some of them calling the people who actually chose to fight.

Ardan, Robin, and Marth immediately went outside the fragile gate that protected the village, followed quickly by the watchers and the soldiers that were in the vicinity.

There were twelve people outside the gate, ready to battle. That was when the first part of Robin's plan started to play out. The group was in the open, clearly visible and armed, playing as bait.

The bait worked. With a determined and bloodthirsty roar from them, the previously marching group immediately started to run towards their prey.

No banter, no further notice. The message was clear. The insult of the previous day would be paid in blood.

Nervous, I watched with Donnel at my side our first and only line of defence sprung into action. Firstly, there were some pained screams from the bandit's group, much to the satisfaction of the young boy and the defenders.

Snare traps. The basic of every hunting party, at least in media. There were two dozen of them hidden in the terrain, and it was clear that some of them caught some.

Quickly realizing the danger, the bandits split and went to the sides of the path. That was where another classic trap was activated, the falling trap.

Almost predicting their movement, Donnel and Ardan had commanded a group of volunteers to dig holes at both sides of the traps. They both were confident that the group would split in two once the traps claimed the first wounded. And I was surprised by how right they were.

I did not have an explanation as to why they could predict their behaviour so well. Ardan was an ex-soldier, so maybe this was experience talking, but Donnel? I knew, heard, on how he did on the big parts of the planning. He was extremely confident that his scheme would work. His pride was not unjustified, it seemed.

However, I could not ponder further on the matter because the remaining bandits were quickly approaching us.

These were the only two traps that the villagers were able to place in the short amount of time available. There were some well-hidden ropes at the sides of the villages in case they would have attacked at the sides, but that was it. In a night, that was everything they could do.

And their work defeated eight people of the bandit's group in total. Not bad, but normally too little to matter in a raid.

Now, there were twenty experienced bandits against eighteen people from the village, of which only five or six trained to fight, counting Robin, Marth and Ardan.

Knowing that the group retreated inside the gates.

"That's it, boys! They are out! Charge!" I heard Rodrick's voice scream from behind the lines in glee.

It really wasn't. There was only another line of defense to them before their group was allowed to fight us. My idea, to be exact.

They were innocuous, at first glance. Simple barrels lined up from the outside from the inside, forming an imaginary hourglass. The only thing of note other than the particular form they created was that every single one of them were bound by two metallic ropes, one for each side, ending in the hands of our only two mages: Robin and Marth.

Some of the bandits charged, actually overturning some of the barrels. It did not matter.

"There!" Robin screamed, giving the verbal signal. She tightened the grip of her rope, almost like in prayer. And then the two mages burst an immense amount of lightning from their palms.

The electricity traveled through the ropes, reaching every single barrel, magnetizing the objects that surrounded the bandits.

The effect was immediate, unexpectedly for the bandits, they felt their weapons moving against their will, as if controlled by an invisible force.

Oh, most of them tried to resist, and kept the grip tight, for the first second. However, amplifying the amount of electricity was a joke for the two girls, so resistance was futile. All of their weapons slipped away and slammed violently towards the barrels.

Some broke at the impact while some containers just took the hit without crashing, simply accepting the stuck weapons on them.

Nevertheless, the result was the same, with the assaulting group disarmed and our forces still ready to fight. As to prove a point, that was the moment when each of our fighters surrounded the bandits and pointed their various weapons at them.

At the same time, a hidden group of people, led by Donnel, sprung into action, quickly picking up the various weapons and taking them away.

"Surrender filth!" Marth called, unsheathing her sword, quickly followed by Robin.

The villagers' group was still far from the magnetized barrels, so they had no problem in keeping their weapons in their hands.

Rodrick, who was the only person still armed, being outside the electromagnetic field quickly turned around to find a way to escape, but he was surprised to see more people behind him, all of them armed and ready to end his life with his old weapons.

I waited impatiently on their next move, hoping that the group would just yield now that they were disarmed.

Much to my relief, the majority of the group slowly kneeled in surrender, clearly giving up in fighting. That simple action made me sigh in relief. One by one, every bandit surrounded, leaving only three other people still defiant, one of them Rodrick himself.

Obviously, he was not happy with how the events were flowing, "What the hell are you doing? They are just villagers! They don't know how to use them! Just punch them and get it over with!" He screamed.

Smartly, none of his group complied, remaining in their surrounded state.

Ardan chose that moment to approaching them, showing himself disarmed like them, if you did not want to count the shovel on his back.

"It's over lass. Ye're surrounded. Give up." He ordered, walking towards him.

The man gritted his teeth, anger, and desperation fuelling his defiance. "Fine, cowards! I'll do that by myself!" He screamed, turning his back and swinging at the nearest target.

At least tried to.

Faster than my eyes could see, something happened. The bandit leader didn't have the time to swing as his ax shattered into pieces.

I blinked, unsure of what just happened.

Ardan had an arm extended, his shovel lacking from his back.

My mouth snapped open, quickly realizing what in the actual hell just happened. "Incredible…" I heard Marth breath in wonder, looking at the scene that just unfolded in front of us.

I looked around, and, confirming my fears, I saw the shovel impaled in the terrain. It did not look damaged. Only dirtied by the dust of the ground.

Now towering over the bandit leader with his build, Ardan slowly repeated, "It's over."

The two other defiant bandits were quick to yield after that display of inhuman strength. Rodrick, on the other hand, did not.

He swung his arms, trying to punch his enemy with a roar of anger, but the ex-soldier easily blocked the desperate hit. He then proceeded to punch him in the gut.

[SBAM]

The sound of his hit echoed in the air, heard by everyone in the vicinity. Heck, I would not be surprised if the entire island heard that hit.

And, like in a shounen anime, Rodrick bent, spitting blood, before falling armless on Ardan's arm, unconscious.

The villagers did not even react at the scene as something unusual. Seeing the victorious form of their comrade and friend, they immediately started to cheer, chanting his name.

Donnel quickly reached his father, jumping excitedly at the parent actions, who just smiled back at his son, sling the bandit leader on his shoulder, and took the shovel out of the ground, pointing it at the sky in a victory pose.

The people roared, the chant increasing in volume, the act vividly resembling the scene from a fairy tale epic final scene.

In all of that, I still had a problem in closing my mouth, repeatedly trying to form complete and coherent sentences.

I looked at Robin, who was in a similar state, if a bit more dignified, and I was glad to not be the only one this surprised at the development.

Ardan and Donnel approached us, surrounded by the crowd, and the Hero patted both of us on the back. "Good job! Golly, I never saw anything like that! That made things a lot more easier, I tell ya'!" He said, smiling brightly at the two of us.

Marth was the first to react, and she bowed deeply, still in wonder "I-It was an honor, sir!" She said with more emotion that I knew she could muster.

Breathing deeply, I reached a state of momentary calm. Scratching my forehead, I then sighed and answered, "That went well… we still have to tie all of them."

Ardan laughed, and Robin snapped out of her stupor, and quickly started to order some people to help with the capture.

The rest of the village quickly reached us, joining in the cheer or in helping.

* * *

After a life and death battle, festivities were inevitable. This day's battle was nothing to write in the history books about, if one didn't count the 'fight' between the bandit leader and Ardan, but the village decided to prepare a feast anyway.

I could not blame them, of course. Surviving a bandit attack with no casualties was probably something to celebrate about, or, at least that was what I thought.

I wasn't sure how things worked here, but if they wanted to party on the night of an attack that ended in their victory, more power to them.

Unfortunately, a banquet meant people, and people meant a lot of social activity. Explaining that, it was obvious that I decided to get the hell out of there and claim peace and quiet for myself just after the party started.

It wasn't simple, unfortunately, and for a multitude of reasons.

The entire village was buzzing with happy and excited people that would roam the streets to eat and cheer or handle the various little stands that some families created with various types of dishes.

The set up was practically an improvised festival. Which was impressive, in a way, because the villagers organized it in mere hours.

Unfortunately, that meant that most men were already partly tipsy and, after the display of today, really grateful to all the foreigners that saved the village, so I was stopped and thanked every two minutes by men and women alike, some children, a couple of what I think were local prostitutes, and a lot of elders.

Bad news, I was subjugated to the various attempts of respect from for the people here and the frankly ridiculous amount of made up titles like 'Lordiness' and 'Holyship'.

Good news, the elders were almost always coupled with slices or baskets of pies, bread, and various amounts of homemade and, more importantly, free food. Being something homemade, it was leagues better than the shit Robin, Marth, and I ate during our travels, even if nothing still compared against my perfect little sister's meals that she cooks just for her favorite big brother.

That is some Komachi's points for that, by the way.

Plus, it was free food, which made it even sweater.

Then there was was reflecting on the events of the day and deciding what to do after this.

Today I had the taste of how different this world was from mine. Magic was not the only factor that differentiates from home. People were strong. Freakishly strong.

By all means, what Ardan had done with his shovel today was impossible. He moved at inhuman speed, and broke an iron ax with just a launched farming tool, leaving said tool intact. Those kinds of feats were absurd, saw only in fiction back in my world.

That a man could easily replicate that was worrying and amazing at the same time. I would not lie and say that my inner teenager, my hidden boy, wanted to reach the same level of strength.

Heck, my blood started boiling at the mere thought of that scene. Who wouldn't?

Yet, I wanted to go home. Yes, that scene was amazing, but I still missed home. I missed my family, my club, and my friends.

Years ago, I would never have guessed that I would value my previous social life than the possibility to reach the level of strength saw only in manga and novels.

And that leads me to the next problem. The Gate. I hadn't finished checking here, but I was sure that it wasn't on this island.

I would continue for a few more days, but I held no delusion that I would find something. That means that I had no idea what to do. This was the only lead I had, and it was a miss.

Where to go next… was simple.

I had to help Robin, after all. We will search Plegia, both for me and to help the albino recover her memories. We needed to check the major centers of faith, hoping to find some family member or acquaintance. If we were lucky, I could even find another lead for me.

I was strangely calm about this. Maybe the events were still heavy in my mind, or maybe I was just curious to find something interesting about this world. I was not sure myself.

Thankfully, I was spared from the heavy thinking when the albino in question appeared in the crowd surrounded by people of various ages and gender talking animatedly with her.

Robin smiled and tried to answer everyone. She seemed perfectly relaxed at the position she held, contrary to how I felt when someone approached me, but the moment she noticed me, she was quick to dismiss the group.

She was as polite as ever in doing it, but the abrupt change of interest was as evident as her white hairs.

Harsh, Robin. I am sure that some of them were trying their luck with you. That abrupt change is hurtful, you know?

As expected, women are dangerous, even in another world.

I blinked and let the thoughts fade away, and lazily nodded at the Tactician in greeting. She, instead, smiled brightly and quickly set herself in front of me.

The people that were trying to talk with her immediately dispersed, much to my amusement.

Despite some of the people being friendly, apparently others were still scared or wary of me. It could be my eyes or it could be my eastern appearance.

I was not sure.

"Hello Hachiman. Where were you?" Robin asked.

I showed her the various baskets and meals in my arms, shrugging, and said, "Walking around. Eating stuff." I dismissed vaguely.

Robin simply accepted the answer and nodded in affirmation. We continued walking around the festival, Robin curiously looking around and taking on in the sight of the event with the glee of a child at their first outing.

Which, now that I thought about it, technically was, with all the amnesia problem and stuff.

Considering those, I did not complain much at the various stops that we made, even if I did continue to look for a safe spot where I, or we, I guess, could rest.

During our walk, we chattered little, and Robin complimenting the plan I came up with while I complimented her and Marth's execution. The Tactician eventually started to think aloud about various variants that could have been more effective, with me simply nodding along or giving small input.

We did eventually find a spot after a dozen of minutes of aimlessly walking around.

"Want to go eat here?" I asked her, pointing at the small street shaded by the various stands.

Robin simply nodded and followed my lead. We sat on some barrels and I offered her some of my food that the people so generously gave me.

She graciously accepted the offer and smiled warmly in thanks and silently started to eat what tasted like a butter cake, periodically making a hum of appreciation at the meal.

I briefly wondered that, if she appreciated this kind of food this much, how would she react to the food of my world and time. There was a striking difference in taste. The cooked meals here weren't bad, just different and generally less tasty than from back home.

While wondering that, I had a brief flash Robin moaning almost, no, totally, orgasming at the taste of fast food with the clothes ripping in pieces and the grease oil covering her body, all the while chips were raining from the sky, conveniently covering any private part that may peak from the scene.

I chocked and started to cough at the image, feeling embarrassment and frankly disgust at the image that my sick mind conjured. Robin was immediately at my side, hastily trying to check on me in fear.

I simply shook my head and arm in reassurance, quickly catching my breath.

"I'm fine. I just need a bit of water." I said.

The albino quickly gave me her water bottle, which I gratefully took and started drinking greedily. It was still shitty water and probably filteredlike back on Earth, but it was more than enough for me.

Honestly, it was at times like these that I thought that anime was a mistake.

"Jeez sir, what'cha doin' here all alone?" A male voice called, disturbing my thoughts.

Ardan walked towards me lazily, juggling a rock in his hand. Accompanying him was his son and his wife. Right behind them, there were Marth, the later of which grimaced at the sight of the two of us. If I had to take a guess, it was because we were alone.

"Sir Ardan." I called back, getting up and bowing slightly.

He snorted, probably amused by the sudden respect from my part, and said, "Just Ardan's fine. I left the sir stuff behind me. Now I'm just a farmer who likes rocks." He told me, much to my amusement.

"Rocks?" I felt obliged to ask, smiling slightly.

"My husband loves collectin' them. He has a wide collection from various places. Ylisse and Plegia, and a few from Regna Ferox." His wife, Niamh as I was told, explained exasperated to me, rolling her eyes.

"Yep!" The man confirmed proudly. "Just got this one! Dara hid it from me, the old bastard!" He told, pouting as he said it, much to my cringe.

Despite the youthful appearance thanks to the absence of beard, seeing a grown man's pout was not cute, thank you very much. A grown woman, on the other hand, was still fair game, as my father learned in his many confrontations with my mother.

I was surprised to discover myself smiling at the memory of the two, now that I was thinking about him. The irony of this was not lost to me.

"Pa' gave one to me!" Donnel said, interrupting my self-pity and showing us a smoother and more decorated rock. "He said it's special!"

"Damn right it is! Dunno what it does, but it has some power. I know it does." He confirmed stubbornly, seeing his wife huffing in disagreement at what it seemed an old, silly argument.

Ardan grumbled, but then focused his attention back on me, "But I have a farm now, so I don't wanna search what it does…" He said, and I noticed Marth grimacing.

It seemed that she knew where this was going.

"And you want to give it to me?" I tried to guess, playing on the tropes. If that was the answer, all of this series of events would be comparable at the kind of stupid things that happened when one completed a secondary mission.

"Wha'? No!" The man denied, almost offended at the thought. "I want Donny to do that! He wants to see the world, I want to know what the rock does. Everyone wins!" He said, smiling proudly at his thinking.

I nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"And ya know, today made Donny really pump' up, and he did well in the fight. So I decided that it was time for him to go…" He explained with a smug, knowing smile, much to my horror.

Because I understood where this was going. This was not an item reward. This was a bonus party member reward!

"No." I cut him, preventing him from finishing the request.

"Aw, come on, ya did not let me finishin'!" Ardan lamented petulantly, much to my irritation.

"P-please sir! I swear that I will be good! I'll do everything ya don't want to!" Donnel pleaded, trying to give me the puppy eyes.

Unfortunately for him, those were only an 8/Komachi, which was surprising given that he was a male and not my cute little sister, but still ineffective against me.

Sorry kid, you need to reach a 5/Saika to try to win me over with that technique! I am too well trained against it!

"That is not a problem." I explained, maintaining a bit of calm despite the sudden spike of nervousness. "It will be dangerous. In a few days, our group will depart to Plegia, and with only three people, it will be difficult to cover for you. That is, without counting the Undead that could attack at any time!" I told them, trying to make them see reason.

The mother, Niamh, seemed more inclined to agree with me, but the two males were still set in their ways.

Thankfully, Marth intervened, saying, "And I will not be with them. I will depart tomorrow at dawn, leaving Lady Robin and Mr. Hikigaya alone from now on." She said.

I looked back at the family and gestured to her, "See? There would be only me and Robin!" I exclaimed, starting to show exasperation in my tone.

"Ye two'll be fine. Ya can help him!" The man replied nonchalantly, unfazed by the news.

"I'm a quick learner sir! I swear I'll fight as good as you quickly!" Donnel interjected, trying to convince me.

It didn't work.

"I can't fight! I fought just once! I'm not qualified to help him!" I shouted this time, trying to make them see how bad this idea was.

"Well, yeah, I know that!" Ardan shrugged, his smile unchanged and clearly not worried about the important detail. "But yer smart. Yer plan won this battle today." He countered.

It was the stupidest counter I ever heard, "That is stupid and you know it! You won the battle! You and that bullshit punch! I bet you could have taken all of them alone!"

His smile grew, becoming prouder with every word I said, much to my growing anger, "Ehehe! Thanks sir. And yeah, I could. But lotsa people would've died in the meantime. And probably me too, without ma' armor." He explained, scratching his chin in though.

"But yer plan? Saved everyone. Even the bandits! Never saw that, I tell ya!" He said, nodding in sync with all of his family.

"If he really wants to go out, I am sure the Shepherds would welcome your son with open arms. I am sure Prince Chrom would be more than happy to have a bright and talented boy with him." Marth interjected, suddenly making her opinion known.

"Nope." Was the extremely fast reply of the father. The way he delivered the rejection was as light and relaxed as before, but his tone changed drastically. It was now hard and sharp, a great contrast with the carefree attitude that he gave us until now.

The contrast was enough to shake the woman and more than able than calm me down.

"W-why?" I heard the swordswoman ask, flustered by the change.

Ardan blinked, and looked at his son, "I don't like the place." He explained as if that should make us understand everything. It was clear that it didn't, because the man shook his head and sighed.

"I dunno this Prince Chrom, but I fought in the last Plegian War." He started to tell with his eyes closed, clearly in unease with this conversation, "Was in the Exalt Christian special force. Only his old friends and strong soldiers entered that. I was strong, so I join'em." Ardan explained shrugging like what he said was not a big deal.

Seeing the amazed expression of the two women, I was inclined to think that it wasn't such an easy feat to pull, contrary to what he wanted to make us believe.

"Fought with 'em the last three months of the war. Never been close to any of 'em. Exalt Christian... he was broken. A demon, I call him." He sighed, letting himself fall on the ground.

"Crazy strong, that man. But he was obsessed. Wanted to kill every Grimleal. Killed babies in cold blood in front of my eyes 'cause the fellas families were Grimleal. I was there in the final battle. Battle of the Fell Kings, I heard it's called now."

Marth inhaled deeply, probably recognizing the name as something important or of historical notoriety. Glancing at Robin I saw her watching the man with deep fascination, probably excited about the story.

"Had twenty-five comrades with me. Should've lead them to victory. Only three of us survived." He said, smiling bitterly at the memory. "One of them died after an hour. Blood loss." He added hollowly.

Looking up at me, Marth, Robin, and Donnel, he said "Exalt Christian wasn't fighting for a cause. Not anymore. He wanted to kill'em all. He screamed as much." He concluded his story.

I felt my blood cold at the story. This was the first time I heard a tale from a soldier. It was… chilling.

He looked at Donnel and said, "If ya' want to go there, I won't stop ya', Donny. But… you know."

Donnel gulped, clearly affected by the tale. It was probably the first time he heard the story from his father.

"I would prefer Lord Hachiman over Prince Chrom." Ardan admitted with a shrug, recovering a bit of his good humor.

"But Prince Chrom isn't his father." Robin protested, surprising me with the passion she holds for the matter. And despite how much I wanted to punch that handsome face and charismatic smile, I had to agree with her. I could see the point that Ardan was trying to make, but it was wrong.

The way he put it was that he didn't want his son to fight a pointless battle. Which was a good enough cause, but he based this fear on experience. He did not know Chrom, but he was judging him from his father's actions. It was unfair to him. Understandable, but unfair.

"Lady Robin is right." Marth agreed with her. "He w-"she tried to say, but Arden stopped her, "I know that. Exalt Emmeryn's different. And Prince Chrom is too but…" he sighed, scratching his back.

"But he's too similar. Those Shepherds? Exalt Christian had a similar group too, in his youth. No fancy name for him thought. It was where his special force came from." He explained.

Marth did not look happy at that, nor was Robin, but I understood. The parallelism was starting to form with the two of them. It was irrational, but fear often was.

I sighed. As much as I understood where his choice came from now, this didn't solve the underlying problem that I had with this arrangement.

"But this does not change anything. He can't fight. He would be in danger. And Robin and I can't protect him all the time." I said, turning back the discussion at the major problem that I had with the proposal.

Ardan sighed, "Yer right. Then I'll just train him. Ya too. Yer body suck." He admitted, before giving another outrageous proposal.

I was really close to face-palming. Since when was this an offering of mentorship? What kind of quest was this? Is the game broken? I demand a refund!

"We have to go in a few days! Are you listening to me, old man? Is the age finally catching up to you!?" I finally snapped, abandoning every pretense of making a good argument against these idiots.

Ardan laughed loudly, and Robin snickered at my outburst, irritating me further.

"Don't worry. One week'll suffice." The farmer said confidently, much to my dismay.

He really was fond of saying outrageous things, wasn't he? Tired of this conversation, I got up.

"We'll see. One week. Then we get going to Plegia." I decided, much to Robin and Donnel's joy, even if for two different reasons.

Now, seeing how a training montage was approaching, I just had to ask something.

"Robin? Teach me magic."

If I am going to stay here for who knows how long, I was going to gain something from it.

**Sup, this is Taine.**

**Here is a chapter in which nothing important happens for the plot! Nothing at all! Or does it?**

**An OC. Hope you like him. Ardan will not make a further appearance in the fic, if you don't like him but he is important for the world building of the story. What do you think about him? Or the villagers, for what matters. Their speech pattern was a nightmare for me, so sorry if it is substandard.**

**Will Donnel join the group? Yeah, probably. Contrary to Marth, he will be a permanent party member. It was strange seeing people think that Marth would stick around. She had things to do in canon so the deviation with Robin and Hachiman was bound to be temporary. What does she plan thought, is a topic for another day.**

**University has begun anew, so update could be slower at times.**

**See you next time!**

**Rewiews:**

** Cseska: Who said it was a sword anyway?**

** RoachVit: That seems like a terrible idea. Martial arts in FE… it needs to be on whole new level for the setting to work.**

** LookItsADoggy: After thinking on what you said… yes, I think you are right, in a way. Saying that nothing happened is kind of a stretch, but I see what you mean.**

**But if you know the setting, there was no way that Emmeryn would have done something drastic. The others would have been another story, but Hachiman is not at the castle, so we will never know.**

** shiroryuu012: Thanks. I hope it will continue be that way. If you don't understand something, please do not hesitate tell me, so I can explain in later chapters. I want to make this story accessible for everyone interested. **

* * *

"Are you ready, Chrom?" the kind voice of the Exalt asked the prince with a tinge of worry, looking at him focusing on some charts.

The blue-haired Lord nodded, smiling reassuringly at his older sister.

"Yes. We will leave tomorrow at midday. You said that the messenger already reached the Feroxi border with your request, right?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

The Exalt nodded in affirmation, and the Prince reassured, "Then everything will be all right."

Emmeryn sighed, worry still showing on her normally graceful visage. "I know. But the border patrol is not the only thing I worry about. Those Undeads…"

"We are more than capable to fend them off Emm. We have plans and weak points, and those monsters are clearly not adaptable. Or if they are, not as quickly as they should be."

That did not calm her down. Not completely. Chrom sighed.

"Do not worry Emmeryn. We will come back with our alliance with Regna Ferox. I promise."


	6. Chapter 6

**However, an alliance is not easily gained.**

If there was a word that described Regna Ferox up until now, Chrom would have used the adjective 'cold'. It would have been the perfect description, in Chrom's humble opinion, of all the day and half march that he and the Shepherds had since entering the Feroxi borders.

Not cold enough to freeze, but enough to be uncomfortable for every Ylissean who was used to mild temperatures.

However, as it was now, Chrom was not thinking about the Feroxi's landscape or its radically different weather from his kingdom. The Prince was instead looking at an envelope, dirtied by earth and blood, decorated with the seal of the Heirloom of Ylisse on the front, partially covered by blood, but visible nonetheless.

"Still watchin' that thing Chrom?" The loud voice of his childhood friend asked, before receiving a heavy pat on his back. Chrom stumbled forward, feeling the hit. The Prince smiled tiredly when the same arm that just hit him closed him in a one-armed hug, and the smiling face of a tanned Fighter closed up to him.

"No I…", the Lord instinctively tried to deny, but he then stopped and sighed in defeat. "Yes Vaike. It's just…", the blue-haired swordsman tried to explain, only for the blonde to shake his head and interrupt him, "I know, I know. The Feroxi will not have our presence announced and blah blah… You already said that stuff Chrom. Bunch of wasted time in Vaike's opinion; if ya want to come, just come!" His friend commented with exasperation, shrugging in dismissal at his worries.

Chrom agreed with him, despite the blunt wording his friend used. All of this was mostly for appearance sake, and did not have any ulterior motive other than an empty show of respect for the Feroxi.

"It is not only that." The swordsman replied, deciding to try to explain to his friend what he really worried him, "It is the fact that we lost a man to the Undead… with no body to find anywhere in the vicinity." I told the axe wielder.

Vaike hummed and nodded in affirmation, his gaze lost in the scenery in front of him. He frowned, a clear indication that his friend was trying to think about something, an action generally beneath The Vaike.

"Ugh, the Undead could've disposed of the body? Maybe?" The Fighter tried to explain, huffing and giving up on finding a resolution to the mystery, much to Chrom's secret amusement.

Chrom smiled slightly, easily admitting, "To be honest, I thought about it too. How though is the question I cannot seem to find the answer…"

Vaike shrugged, scratching his head in contemplation "I dunno,… oh, you think they could've eaten it?" He suggested, starting a bit enthusiastically but ending the sentence more as a question than an answer.

The Prince blinked, unsure on how to take the statement. He did not think of the possibility, if not because from the little information that they had, the Undead should not have a need to eat. The possibility that their diet needed human flesh made him feel something between amusement at the ridiculousness of the claim and the horror of the possibility of it actually being real.

Chrom was not sure of what kind of face he was making, but seeing that Vaike was clearly struggling to keep his smile hidden, and failing miserably, it should be a treat to him. Before one of them could say anything, the female voice of his younger sister interrupted the conversation.

"Gross Vaike! Goodness, what made you think that!" The blonde Cleric replied from behind them, grimacing in clear disgust. At her side, Maribelle made a similar face, even if her expression was angrier than the one of her friend.

"Commoners sure have an extremely crude imagination. What a disgusting image." She commented, disappointed.

Vaike laughed the two off, enjoying the reactions that he got from the group without taking the various insults personally.

"M-maybe they took control of him…", the faint voice of their only Pegasus Knight, Sumia, said, catching their attention. Focusing on her, Chrom easily noticed how she was shaking in fear at the thought. While he did not show the same reaction to them, he too, thought that as an extremely frightening possibility.

"How absurd!" The Duke's daughter snapped immediately, chastising the brown-haired knight, "Such a feat would be noticeable. The man would be with the group, and we would have seen the similarities." She said, shaking her head in disbelief.

That comment actually relaxed the shy woman, who smiled faintly at the Troubadour to convey her gratitude. Unfortunately, this was not meant to last, because Vaike decided to reply bluntly, "But we didn't see any of their faces, with those masks. And when we smashed them, they immediately became dust…"

Sumia and Lissa paled, immediately forgetting their relief at the implication of the statement. Lissa grumbled and crossed stubbornly her arms, murmuring what seemed like light insults to Vaike, but never told anything at him directly.

"D-do you think it is possible, C-captain?" Sumia instead asked for both the girls, looking at him pleadingly. The Lord smiled at the Pegasus knight, but he did not immediately answer her, unsure on how to answer the question.

Should he reassure them or tell them his honest opinion? Should he prioritize morale over his opinion? Should h-

"How foolish." Maribelle snapped, grimacing at Vaike while opening her umbrella to cover herself from the cold wind. "Such a thing would be impossible! How would they even do that? Should they carry masks with them for every man or woman killed?" She protested haughtily, reassuring the two girls again and preventing Chrom from answering in any way.

He was grateful for the interruption.

Vaike shrugged, "Maybe? Why couldn't they?" He replied nonchalantly, much to the Duchess's irritation, "The Vaike says that if they are dead and walkin', why couldn't they turn others like 'hem?" He explained lazily, making the Prince smirk in amusement.

"Because we do not know if they really are dead people, Vaike." Maribelle answered with forced calm. The Fighter did not notice the dangerous line he was approaching, and curiously asked, "We don't? But Chrom said-"

"We all know what the Prince said." The healer hastily interrupted, glaring at the axemen for the familiarity showed towards the heir of the country.

It was a futile effort, everyone knew that, but if Maribelle had merit, stubbornness was one. Unfortunately, her stubbornness had a fine match against Vaike's… Vaikeness, to be polite.

"But it was specified that all of this information we have are pure conjectures, and that is not even considering the dubious origins of such conjectures." She continued to explain to the group, earning the two royalty's annoyance.

Vaike, instead, was simply confused, "Conju-what?" He asked, making the noblewoman sigh in exasperation. She took a moment to collect herself and find a simpler way to explain it to him.

"We are not sure if it's the truth, Vaike. Does that clarify it for your thick head?"

Vaike hummed in agreement and nodded, accepting the reasoning at face value. Lissa started to mentally count the seconds until the man realized the backhand insult her friend threw in the explanation.

Five seconds later, the blonde Shepherd blinked and turned towards the duchess outraged, "Ehi! The Vaike does not have a thick head! It's just very strong!" He screamed, making the young princess laugh and the Troubadour roll her eyes in exasperation, "Of course Vaike. I apologize for the rudeness." She said, half sarcastically.

Chrom smiled at the little scene, his spirits lifted at his comrade's interaction. However, he had just one thing that he wanted to ask, specifically to Maribelle.

"What did you mean before, Maribelle?" The Prince asked, breaking up their formation and approaching the healer and his sister.

The blonde woman blushed a bit at his inquiry, embarrassed to be caught saying such a controversial opinion against the word of the Exalt and the prince. Nevertheless, she lightly coughed in her free hand and diligently answered, "Pardon my rudeness, Your Highness. What I meant to say is that I personally found strange that a…", she paused, trying to find a specific word, "…bizarre pair arrive at the castle with all the information of a threat appeared for the first time mere hours ago." She explained seriously.

The Lord could not help the embarrassed cough that he gave at her observation, but the blue-haired man nodded in agreement**, **"I…can understand your concerns." He admitted, blushing lightly in embarrassment.

If it were explained like that, his sister and his trust towards the strangers would seem extremely naïve. However, she wasn't privy to some of the details regarding the two sources, so she did not have a complete picture of the situation.

"But my sister has some details relevant to the two's pasts that made their testimony extremely valuable and trusted. Details that even I am partially not privy to." He told her calmly, surprising the duchess.

"I see." She commented thoughtfully, "It must be important if even the prince is not allowed to know." She commented, glancing at her best friend.

Noticing the unasked question, Lissa shrugged, "I don't know anything either. From what sis told me, neither Frederick nor the Council knows all of it. But I am sure at least Phila knows something. " She admitted.

The swordsman nodded. "Yes. She was the one who vouched for Frederick and me at the meeting, so I am sure that she knows more." Chrom confirmed to the two healers.

The Prince wasn't sure of what his sister was keeping from them. She did not seem particularly anxious by whatever kind of information itwas, nor stressed like he would have imagined. After all, this was the first time that Emmeryn clearly omitted information from him or his sister, at least openly so.

Chrom wasn't naïve enough to think that Emmeryn did not keep secrets from the two of them, she probably decided to not talk about it. Even then, when something stressful was happening, it was clear to her siblings: lack of sleep, head in the clouds, Phila being particularly zealous, and generally a lot of time spent in prayer to the Goddess.

This was why his belief was that whatever she was keeping from them was not extremely important or dangerous for her. He was even sure that if he asked his older sister, she would tell him what all the secrecy is about. Maybe not Lissa though.

"Very well then. I still find everything suspicious, but if the Exalt knows something that assures the veracity of these claims, I can sleep easier." Maribelle concluded, sighing in defeat and the two siblings nodded, letting the matter rest.

"But Maribelle, are you sure you should be here?" Lissa asked her friend after a few moments of silence, making the duchess surprisingly groan in exasperation, "Yes dear, I already said that it is fine." The Troubadour replied wearily, confusing the prince.

"What do you mean Lissa?" The Lord asked curiously, and immediately the princess started to tell him "She was call-"

She was swiftly interrupted by the commanding voice of the duchess, who said, "It is nothing important, Your Highness."

The Cleric scowled at the older healer and pouted at the interruption. "Lissa dear, do not be like that. I merely-" Maribelle immediately tried to amend, but Lissa huffed and turned to her brother, this time capable of explaining everything, "She was called back to Themis to cover for her father now that they are gone for a treaty with the Duke of… Crius?" She concluded unsure, glancing back at Maribelle, looking for confirmation.

The duchess briefly sighed in defeat, unhappy about the situation, but immediately replied elegantly, "Yes, Lissa. My dear father called me back to take reign of the duchy in both his and mother's absence."

Chrom grimaced at the news and asked, "Then why are you here?" Then realizing how _that _sounded, he quickly backtracked, trying to do some damage control, "Not that you are not welcome here Maribelle, your skills are more than-"

His panicked answer was interrupted by a light chuckle from the blonde duchess, who smiled pleasantly at his preoccupation, "I understood what you meant, Captain. Nevertheless, I chose to come here because I felt this is a more important matter than only my duchy. An alliance with those brutes is a rare affair, and I felt the need to support the endeavor however I can. Rest assured Your Highness, we have more than competent vassals that will take the reign with our absence in these cases. Some of them a lot more experienced than myself, so I do not fear for the well-being of the duchy." Maribelle explained smiling proudly, much to Lissa's irritation.

Chrom relaxed and nodded in acceptance. Lissa's eyes widened in surprise, and she glared at her brother at the perceived betrayal.

The Prince bravely ignored his younger sister's glare, fully aware of the retribution that he would suffer in the following days in the form of light pranks, and said, "Very well. Thank you for coming with us, and know that your presence is much appreciated Maribelle."

The young woman smiled back and said, "It is a pleasure Your Highness, for us noblewoman of Ylisse, serving royalty is one of the highest honours possible."

Chrom smiled back and replied, "If you say so. You do know that you can justcall me Chrom, Maribelle. You are practically family."

Lissa giggled, much to the blue-haired swordsman's confusion. That is when Maribelle blushed and looked away, "Y-you are too kind Milord. To consider a simple duchess as family is too much for people like me."

Chrom looked at his sister, who was still trying to contain her amusement. Noticing his question, Lissa wordlessly mouthed something. Chrom grunted in assent and decided to reply, "Nonsense, Maribelle. You have known us from a young age, especially Lissa, and you are always welcome to the castle. I know that Emmeryn enjoys the time you two spend with her. She told me you make excellent tea." The Prince told her. He was not making things up or embellishing the truth here. His sister even said that the Prince should take the time to join her some time, specifying how relaxing it was for her when she was with the young Duchess.

Maribelle coughed, the embarrassment clear from the red flush on her cheeks, and quietly said, "Y-you honour me, Captain C-Chrom."

Lissa made an aww sound and immediately threw herself on her friend in a hug, making the older healer stumble a bit and hesitantly hugging her back.

The Prince snickered at the scene, and patted his sister on her head in clear amusement. "You got to stick with her now, unfortunately. It is part of the package." Chrom commented, prompting the blonde princess to stick her tongue out in mock anger.

"C-captain." A soft voice called to the Lord, interrupting the brief moment between the group. The swordsman turned towards the source and smiled at their only Pegasus Knight, who blushed at the sudden attention.

"Yes Sumia?" He asked, waving a quick goodbye at the two healers and approaching the girl. Sumia bowed slightly, before starting to report, "I-I am her to report C-captain. I just finished the check on our rations, a-and we have only a day of rations for all of us." She said, raising her voice slightly to make the prince hear well.

Chrom blinked and nodded his assent, and glanced at the horizon. "That is not a problem. We already are at the Longfort, and we can restock at Regna Ferox." Chrom easily replied, noticing the Longfort'sguards should see them soon.

"Y-yes but…" Sumia hesitated a bit, before continuing after a gesture of encouragement, "I t-think that it would not be enough. The Anna's price was high to restock our weaponry. N-not that I am-" she started panicking and bowing in embarrassment and fear.

Chrom's grunt stopped her from devolving further in her worries, "That is problematic… but I guess we will ask for aid from the Khan." He said, and then grimaced, "Worst scenario, we spend all our money on food and start to ration during the travel back to Ylisstol." He explained unhappily, mentally chastising himself for not thinking about their budget.

Frederick must have thought the purchase of weapons would be more important if he did not voice his concern when they decided to buy from the Anna.

Sumia nodded in acceptance and smiled timidly and admittedly cutely at him, "I see. Hopefully everything will be resolved." She said hopefully, before sighing in slight preoccupation "Gosh, I have to do a reading…" She murmured to herself, almost uncatchable to the prince.

"Reading?" Chrom wasn't able to stop himself from asking, making the girl startled at the question. She blushed deeply, embarrassed to be heard by her Captain, and quietly answered, "It's nothing. Just a silly thing. I..." She stopped, clearly hesitant to continue the answer, but in the end said, "I like to read flowers… to know the future." She finally admitted, much to the man's perplexity.

He did not immediately answer, unsure of how to react at the admission. In the end, he simply said, "I see. I hope that it will make a favourable result then. For all of us."

Sumia quickly nodded and bowed, embarrassed to let her hobby out so openly. "W-well then… I'll go. Bye Captain." The Pegasus Knight quickly said, before walking away with a faster step than normal.

Chrom blinked at her sudden flight and scratched his head, still unsure of how to manage this kind of situation. He wasn't particularly mad at the girl.

"Flower reading uh?" He commented to himself, smiling slightly at the image of the young girl quietly picking up flowers and playing with them. It was strangely appropriate to the vibe she gave off, Chrom mused.

It should not have been surprising.

"**Halt!**" A powerful voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts.

Chrom blinked and noticed that everyone stopped in their tracks, looking up towards the Longfort or him. The prince followed their gaze and looked at the immense structure, with the gates now clearly visible and approachable than before.

On the top of the fortification, a person, a woman judging from the voice, was talking with them. Probably the head guard of this section of the Longfort, if he had to guess.

"State your business, strangers." She said, her voice projected to them with arcane powers. Chrom grimaced, unsure on how to answer the woman. It was not that he could not do the same, but he doubts his voice could reach the top of the fortification.

Chrom looked back, searching between his comrades for help. Finding the woman he needed, he locked eyes with Miriel and gestured for her to come at his side. She wordlessly approached Chrom, quickly followed by Frederick, who stepped at his other side, always ready to protect his charge in case of a surprise attack.

"What do you request, Captain?" Miriel asked almost emotionlessly. If it weren't for the continued glance she shot at the Longfort, he would have thought that the entire situation did not bother her in the slightest.

"Can you make sure my voice carries to them?" The Prince quickly asked the mage, prompting an immediate nod of affirmation from the redhead. "This request easily falls in my capabilities, Lord Chrom. Please, wait a moment." Miriel answered, before pointing one of her fingers on his throat. Chanting, a quick light enveloped the blue-haired Lord's entire neck. When the light faded, the Mage nodded.

Smiling back in thanks, Chrom turned his attention towards the woman, "**This is Prince Chrom of the Heirloom of Ylisse!**" he announced himself, his voice sounding more authoritative than he felt at the moment.

Hearing silence from the walls, he continued: "We are there to seek audience with the Khans. We request passage to those gates."

After he finished, he had to wait only a moment to have a reply, "We are not informed of any meeting with the Kingdom of Ylisse, lad." The woman commented sceptically.

"Our messenger succumbed to enemy forces. I have here the letter that Exalt Emmeryn sent to the Khans." Chrom replied confidently, taking out the envelope and showing it to the woman.

He then realized that they probably could not see anything from there, and quickly took the letter in his pocket again.

"You are not the first Ylissean that came to us." The woman sneered in disgust, heavily stressing the word 'Ylissean' with all the venom she could master.

"Do you have any proof of your claim?" The Feroxi guard then asked mockingly, already sure that they could not prove anything.

Chrom grimaced, and Frederick scowled at the clear disrespect the woman showed to his Prince.

"As the Prince of Ylisse, I bear the Mark of Naga, unique to only the members of the Royal Family. As a Warrior, I wield the Falchion, usable only by a few chosen with the blood of the Goddess. Are those proofs enough for you?" He replied tensely, gesturing his retainer to calm down with a curt movement of his hand.

Immediately after he finished, the woman laughed. It was not mocking like before, but maintained a certain sense of amusement.

"Ah, the lad fancy himself as a warrior! Then what about showing us how goo-OUCH! What?" The guard abruptly stopped her challenge, much to the group's relief, and turned towards the source of the interruption, angered.

Moments passed when she simply listened to the culprit of the interruption without replying. In the end, she growled in irritation and snappily said, "Tch, fine! Lad, come here. You better have all that you said, or we will not show any mercy."

Relief flooded between the Shepherds, with most of them relaxing at the concession. Chrom hummed and turned towards Miriel, who quickly dispelled the incantation.

"Sumia." The Lord called out, making the knight in question immediately stumbled in front of him.

"Y-yes Captain?" she answered stressed, saluting him stiffly.

Chrom smiled, trying to relax her and himself, and said, "Take your Pegasus. You are accompanying me at the top of the fort." He explained as calmly as he could. Sumia paled and stuttered in fear. Nevertheless, she gave a nod and hastily ran towards her steed.

Chrom observed the girl who, after few steps tripped and face planted on the snow. Stahl and Lissa immediately were at her side, helping her stand up and fretting briefly on her.

Absorbed in the scene, the Prince did not notice the red Cavalier approaching him. This was why he was not prepared for the heavy slap on his back, making him stumble.

"Relax Chrom. You look like a grumpy Miriel. You have this in the bag!" Sully said cockily, smiling brightly at him in reassurance. Chrom laughed awkwardly and smiled back unconvincingly. Sully raised an eyebrow, and asked "What, you lost Falchion? Who are you, Vaike?" She joked sarcastically, making the prince chuckle in amusement.

"No, I have it right here with the letter." He replied, showing her the items with an exaggerated gesture.

"So the Mark is painted? Wow Chrom, I did not think you could lie to us…" Sully questioned with an exaggerated grin that was returned in kind.

He made to answer that accusation, but Frederick interrupted the two, "You may stop Sully. I think it is enough. Sumia is here. Are you ready Milord?" The Great Knight asked him softly, concern evident in his voice.

Chrom nodded, and turned towards Sumia, who was now approaching the trio galloping on her Pegasus.

"All ready, Captain." She reported after taking a huge breath with newfound confidence and determination.

"Atta girl!" Sully commented the unusual sight, smiling slightly at her comrade. Chrom nodded and carefully saddled the winged steed, who did not react at his presence or his added weight.

"Good boy." Sumia praised the steed, who preened at the praise of his knight and grunted. "Now let's go. Hold tight Captain." Sumia advised. Fortunately, Chrom immediately followed her order because the Pegasus suddenly jumped in the air, suddenly taking altitude.

Chrom tightened his grip around the Pegasus Knight's waist, and did not talk, letting the girl take reign of the situation.

Sumia did not immediately approach the Fort. She simply started to circle at random in the air, approaching the fortification slowly, testing the reaction of the guards. When it was clear that they were not going to shoot them on sight, the timid girl took a more direct approach, and flew towards the top of the fort.

When near the walls, she started to slow down, until when they reached the top of the walls; she stopped, waiting for the expressed confirmation of the guards.

"You may land." The same voice that greeted them said, stepping in front of the guards. Sumia followed the orders and moved the reign, making the flying horse land on the stone.

"Good job Sumia, stay here, I will deal with them." Chrom murmured at her ears, before getting off the steed. He could not see her face, but the woman blushed in embarrassment at the intimate gesture, starting to blab something unheard to anyone.

Chrom reached the woman who talked and took out the letter, giving it to the Knight. The woman was stiff and stern, giving the prince a vibe that reminded him of Phila and Frederick.

While she took the envelope, the blonde woman glanced at his naked shoulder, and grimaced in annoyance, noticing the Mark of Naga. Glancing at the bloodied letter, she grunted in affirmation, "The Sigil of the Heirloom of Ylisse…" she murmured.

"Told you Raimi." A male voice called from the back of the guards, amusement clear in his tone. "Shut it! He did not show the Falchion!" She snapped, irritated at the male voice.

Taking it as his clue, Chrom unsheathed the legendary sword, parading it forall to see.

"Aaand?" The same voice sassed Raimi from behind, making the guard grit her teeth in frustration. "Fine! You were right! Happy?" She replied in irritation, before turning to Chrom and giving back the envelope to the amused prince, who was trying to hide a smirk at the scene unfolding in front of him.

Raimi tried to say something, but the male voice interrupted her, "So, tomorrow at midday?" The male guard asked again, making the Knight growl in irritation. "Oh for fuck- Yes! Tomorrow at midday. Now shut up you insufferable…" The rest of the insult was drowned out by the cheer of a group of guards of both genders, some of them even patting the back of their captain in mock congratulations.

Chrom did not resist this time, and openly snickered at the woman's frustration, and he heard a soft giggle from the Pegasus Knight, who found the entire scene as much entertaining as him.

Raimi glared at the two, clearly displeased by the reaction, but she then ignored them in favour of shouting orders to the other guards.

"Open the gate! The group is the real deal!" She screamed over the voices, much to the relief of the two Shepherds.

"Follow me. I'll accompany you to Khan Flavia."

* * *

The walk to the castle was relatively short for the Shepherds. It took only two hours to reach the Khans residence.

What they found was extremely different from Ylisstol's castle; in their homeland, the Exalt's residence was not only a place of fortification, but it was primarily a symbol for all the followers of Naga, who make up roughly eighty percent of Ylisse population. As such, the castle was continuously decorated and renovated in the millennia (nine hundred and ninety-seven a voice suspiciously similar to Frederick's mentally corrected the Prince) following the defeat of the Fell Dragon at the hand of the First Exalt, until it took the elegant form that it had today.

The Exalt was currently planning some minor reinterpretations, from what the Prince remembered hearing from her, something about dismantling the more pompous and visible decorations from something less distracting in the more used halls of the castle.

In Regna Ferox there was nothing like that.

"How bare…" Maribelle commented to the group, observing critically but clearly fascinated at the walls of the fortress that were erected in front of the group.

"Regna Ferox clearly chose a more utilitarian approach opposed to the more decorative form of Ylisse." The monotone voice of the redhead researcher observed with little emotion, catching the attention of everyone in the group.

"But even so, I see various symbols that I do not recognize being of this region. May I ask the significance of those?" Miriel asked our guide, who glanced absently at her, "Umm? Those are symbols of War Father. The Khans decided to add them fairy recently… sixty years ago. I think? 'm not sure." She explained the group with a vague and lazy gesture.

Chrom stared in surprise at the new information, having the sensation of having already heard of this figure. He grimaced in concentration, trying to recall all the lessons possible to come up with an answer but fortunately, their only mage explained for everyone.

"Surprising. War Father, alias Duma, also known in the legend as the Might of Naga." She said, prompting a chorus of exclamation of understanding.

"Yeah him." Raimi confirmed lazily, clearly uninterested at the conversation the group was holding. Opening a big door, the group entered what clearly was the throne room of this fortification.

She then turned towards the group and said, "Now, I am going to summon the Khan, wait here lad." She said, before turning her back to us and leaving the group without more pleasantries.

Turning towards the group, Chrom decided to continue the previous conversation, his interest now picked, "Might of Naga?" the swordsman asked curiously to the group.

Vaike and Sully shrugged, probably knowing even less than he does, while Stahl scratched his chin in contemplation, "The reconstructed gospels talked about him a little. Him and his… sister? Cousin? Anyway, he and Earth Mother were Divine Dragons as old as Lady Naga." He explained hesitantly, unsure of his knowledge.

"Yes Stahl. I am surprised a commoner like you knows this much. Lord Duma and his sister, Lady Mila, were in fact in extremely good relationship with the Goddess, some says even close friend. However, for reasons unknown, the three of them had a disagreement and fought. After weeks of battle, Goddess Naga won and banished the two. It is said that they went to Valm, but we lost most of our recordings in the Schism so a lot of it is speculation." Maribelle continued to explain, looking at Sumia and Miriel who nodded in confirmation.

"That is correct. The only thing I can add with security is that the two eventually landed in a continent called Valentia, and certain deductions make the experts and myself believe is in actuality Valm, but nothing more." Miriel confirmed with a stern nod. "I did not immerse myself in this area of study, Captain Chrom, so I am ashamed to say I did not know more of the subject." She apologized.

While the prince reassured her that she did not have to apologize for anything, a loud cough caught their attention, and when Chrom turned towards the source, they saw Virion looking at them with a clearly exaggerated expression of surprise and outrage. "That even a dedicated beauty such as Lady Miriel knows so little of the noble and proud history of Valm… Ylisse must have been extremely damaged by the Schis." The archer said before smiling at the group, "But do not fear, dear comrades because I, Virion, will narrate the legendary tale of King Alm and Queen Celica, legendary warriors that defeated the Fell God Duma and Kingsgrail Mila." He proudly announced with a theatrical gesture.

A strange glint shined in Miriel's glasses and she completely turned towards the foreign noble in interest. "Fascinating. Please do tell us." She asked words filled with more emotion than the group had ever heard in the entire journey towards Regna Ferox.

She was not the only one interested in the tale, Maribelle and Sumia were the more visibly interested in the story, followed by Stahl and the prince himself, while people like Frederick and Sully did not care much for that.

A loud laugh interrupted the silver haired noble before he could start his tale, and the group was welcomed by the sight of their guide coming back directly behind a dark skinned woman with hair of colour similar toVaike, cladded in armour.

"Ah, Fell God uh? So old Duma was killed in battle uh? Man, I can't wait to rub this on the old bastard's face!" She said, approaching the Shepherds with extreme calm and confidence that visibly unnerved and tensed Frederick.

Chrom smiled at the woman and took some steps forward, bowing slightly at her, "Greetings. You must be the Khan, I presume." He said, making her smile slightly.

"Yes, one of them, the East-Khan. My name is Flavia. Sorry for the trouble at the border, Prince Chrom. You and the Shepherds are welcome to Regna Ferox." She introduced herself politely, patting him on his back.

Chrom winced in pain; feeling the powerful blow and wondered how strong this woman must be if this was how she greeted.

"In the end, everything resolved itself without sharing blood so think nothing of it. But I must ask the reason of such high alert, if you could?" The swordsman asked, making the woman grimace in irritation.

"Cut the formalities, we are both on the same level here, and there is no problem in asking. Those dogs," She said in anger, almost spitting at the last word "have been ransacking our villages outside the Longfort. It was already clear it wasn't Ylisse, but a group of idiots actually had documents that proved such." She explained.

Chrom gritted his teeth; rage slowly building inside snarled, "Damn bastards, they want to isolate us…" he growled, before regaining his calm and breathing deeply "I apologize, Your Grace. That was… indelicately put." He said.

The Khan shrugged uncaringly, smirking at him, "Good spirit. Do not apologize kid. Here in Ferox we appreciate plain speech. Now, what do you want to discuss about?" She asked, turning the conversation back on the original tracks.

Chrom nodded, both in affirmation and relief of the more crude mannerisms of the land, and extended to her his sister's letter.

Flavia did not bat an eye at the sorry state of the envelope and quickly opened it, while the Ylissean Prince started explaining, "We are here to request a formal alliance against the new threat that appeared two weeks ago, the Undead. My sister asks for troops to help deal with those and possibly the culprits, once they are exposed." The Lord said, while the dark skinned woman scanned quickly the letter.

"Smart girl…" She commented quietly, before closing the letter and giving it to Raimi.

"Yes, the Raisen, or Undead. We had encounters with them. Stubborn bastards, they took a while to kill. But tell me Prince, does the Exalt have some idea about the culprit of those monsters?" She asked him.

Chrom grimaced and looked away, grumbling, "Not that I know of, if she has, she did not tell me." He explained, making the woman sigh in exasperation.

"I see. What do you think though, Prince Chrom." She asked again. This time, the blue haired swordsman hesitated a moment to answer. After a brief internal debate, he decided to tell her his honest opinion, following the appreciated policy of honesty in this kingdom.

"I personally believe that Plegia, or at least the Grimleal, are behind this. Our source of information made clear that all the circumstantial evidence are against them." After that, the Prince sighed tiredly and added, "Unfortunately, there is nothing more conclusive." He added a bit irritated.

Flavia nodded seriously, thinking about what she just heard. "I see. A shame, but even here we have nothing to add. We are on the same page, though." She admitted.

Sighing, she then said, "Back to business though. I cannot provide the forces you requested. Not immediately at least." She explained, making the Lord blink in surprise and confusion.

"Pardon me but… why? Are you not the Khan?" he asked, prompting the woman to nod. "Yes, one of them. I am not the sovereign in this period. In Feroxi, the command is given to the Khan who wins a tournament. Last one was won by the West-Khan, the old bat Basilio, so I have to run this to him and wait for his ok." She explained.

Chrom hummed in affirmation, understanding the situation, "And that would be a problem…," he guessed.

Flavia snorted loudly and shook her head in negation, "Hell no. The bastard would be more than happy to help. I'll be plain, the only problem here is time and bureaucracy, not him. He would love a good fight."

Chrom nodded in surprise at the blunt statement and said, "I see. So we would just have to wait."

"Buuut…" Flavia interrupted him, catching newly his attention "Incidentally, the tournament is in three days. So if I win, I could speed things up considerably. But I need a champion for that, which I lack at the moment. Basilio's won the last tournament, and I know he will fight again this time, and none of my warriors can hold a candle to him, unfortunately."

Chrom quickly caught up with what she wanted from him, "You want us to represent you." He stated, making the woman grin and snap her fingers.

"Exactly lad. Well, I need to see how good you are before but I am sure the wielder of the legendary Falchion is no slouch. So, what do you think?" she asked.

Chrom looked towards his group, waiting for their input and opinions. Vaike and Sully smirked at him, clearly ready to go with the idea. Lissa looked unsure, while Frederick was stone faced, which meant that he was thinking about the possibility.

Miriel did not seem to have an opinion, while Stahl just shrugged. Virion simply smiled and nodded in agreement, giving his support to the idea.

With all the others opinions, Chrom reached a conclusion. Facing the older Khan he said, "We are in."

The Khan grinned wildly, before laughing. "Good, no hesitation. Then follow me and take two of you. I am gonna see how good you are." She said, cracking her knuckles in anticipation.

The Lord shook his head in confirmation and called, "Vaike, Sully, you two up for a spar?"

The two Shepherds immediately stepped forwards, eagerly stretching their arms and legs in excitement, "Fuck yeah! You know it!" The redhead cavalier confirmed, while the blonde let out a boisterous laugh, "Looks like it is Teach's time to fight!"

Chrom chuckled at the two's crude enthusiasm, but he could not lie and say that he didn't feel the same. Evidently, the dark skinned Khan felt the same, because her reply was as excited as the two Shepherds.

"Good, follow me kiddos!" She said, guiding them out of the room. The trio of volunteers immediately followed her, just behind her, while the rest of the group followed after, with only Frederick moving to reach his liege.

Chrom ignored him. Not because he did not want to hear his retainer, but because he had something else to ask the Khan, "Lady Flavia? May I ask you a favour?" The Prince asked, prompting the woman to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. "Go on." She simply answered.

"I am afraid that I have to ask for some supply as reward for our participation at the tournament. Unfortunately, poor management choices have dried our food and money." The Lord explained, maintaining a straight face. Unluckily for him, a dust of red still showed on him, giving away his embarrassment for doing such a request.

Flavia smirked, "Oooh? Let me guess, it was a Red Fox?" She asked, smiling slightly at the tale. "It was an Anna, yes." Chrom confirmed after a moment of hesitation, prompting a chuckle from the older sovereign.

"Yeah, no problem. Gods forbid we all make the same mistake. The West-Khan still does. Last year he spent half the kingdoms' money on weapons and Valmian wardrobe. That idiot." She cursed.

Chrom nodded, smiling at the woman "Well, I am glad one of us did not make the same mistake." He commented lightly. He did not notice the Khan coughing in her fists and looking away in embarrassment.

"Yeah… me too… ahah…" She said hesitantly, much to Sully's hilarity and Frederick's quiet amusement. Noticing the two reactions, Flavia immediately changed thetopic, "But let's forget about them! We are here to fight! So choose your weapons and get in the ring lads!" She said, entering a vast room filled with various types of weapons and training dummies.

The woman took in her hands an axe and a short sword, which she sheathed at her side. Chrom took a rapier and a longsword, entrusting Falchion to Frederick, who nodded and simply said, "Be cautious, Milord, Vaike, Sully."

The group grinned in various displays of confidence and gave their affirmation. Vaike took an iron axe, testing its weight, while Sully decided to pick a javelin and bronze lance, swirling the last around to get used to its length.

"You are going to fight alone?" Chrom asked, noticing the absence of other fighters with their sparring partner. The Khan smirked and nodded, "Ah! As if I need help against some snot nosed brats. I will be enough for you three." She said, prompting a nod of acceptance.

"Confident much uh…" Sully commented, looking back at Frederick. For a brief moment, in front of her were three kids and a young man fighting, the young Knight expertly evading and instructing the clumsy but admittedly competent swings of the three kids.

Shaking the memory away, the red Cavalier focused again on the situation at hand, and walking towards the centre of the battlefield, flanking Chrom.

Vaike was quick to follow his friend, swinging wildly his axe in an attempt of intimidation, "The Vaike is no brat! Do not come crying if the Teach and his team beat you badly!" he boasted, positioning at the other side of the prince, ready to fight.

Flavia grasped her axe and replied, "Big words for a newbie. Now let's stop talking and let our abilities talk for us! The Feroxi way!" she announced, effectively starting the match.

Predictably, after seconds of waiting, Vaike was the first to charge at the woman. With surprising speed, he reached the Khan and swung, targeting her abdomen.

The dark skinned Hero effortlessly moved her own axe to intercept the swing, blocking the hit with a single arm. She immediately went to punish the careless action with a swift kick to the Fighter's stomach, but stopped. She only had the time to take a quick step back and dodge the launched javelin targeting her side, which impaled at gripping range from her.

Glancing quickly at her side, the axe wilder spotted the redhead woman grinning at her and being ready to charge with her bronze spear in hand.

Flavia stopped another attack from the tanned skinned man in front of her, who used her perceived distraction to charge a full power vertical swing from above. This time though, she actually faltered at the force of the hit, forcing her to focus entirely on the man in front of her.

Growling in concentration, the Khan demonstrate an astounding amount of power and threw away the man with a simple grunt of effort, making him lose his balance and forcing him to take a step back.

She did not have the time to take a breath though, because that is when she had to swing her axe again to intercept the bronze lance aimed towards her throat. The Khan's weapon did not only block the charge, but even completely deflected the hit, forcing the lance to impale on the ground.

Its wielder growled in irritation and used the lance as a lever to send a flying kick to the face of the Khan. Surprised by the fast action, the sovereign had to abandon the axe to dodge the kick.

Swiftly glancing around and at her other side, she noticed that the Fighter did not try to attack her again, and she did not see the Prince attacking from her other sid-.

"Shit." she grumbled, quickly unsheathing her short sword and blocking with both arms the heavy swing of the blue haired Lord, who had used the back of his tanned skinned comrade to jump in the air and land a powerful hit from above her.

The warrior queen succeeded in blocking the attack, but the power behind hit was a lot more than she had expected, her knees actually trembling at the powerful swing.

Forced once again to retreat, the woman jumped back to take distance from her enemies.

She grinned excitedly at them.

"Very good. You are much better than I thought. I have to actually take you seriously here. You will do well in the tournament." She commented, locking her gaze on the three fighters to prevent any surprise attack.

"But the sparring is not finished here. Let's see how long you survive kids!" she screamed, launching herself with almost reckless abandon at them.

The three Shepherds met her head on, the Prince locking blades with the woman, only to be easily pushed back, and finding himself various feets away from the exchange.

The Lord could only watch in amazement how the Khan used that moment of disbelief of his companions to kick to the blonde axe wielder, who had only the time to intercept the hit to mitigate the damage. Instead of that, Vaike found his newly acquired axe shatter in his hand by the force of the kick.

"What the hell!?" he screamed surprised, immediately throwing the useless weapon away and lunging at the Khan with his bare fist, trying to punch her face.

Meanwhile, Sully opted to dodge the swing that the woman made to her, and thrust her spear to try a hit.

Faced with an assault on both her sides, the sovereign decided to discard her strong grip on her short sword in favour of being able to use both her arms. She then proceeded to grab the shaft of the Cavalier's lance with only her strengthened arm and block the punch of the Fighter with the shell of the sword.

Vaike let out a lament of pain when his bare fist connected with the iron of the sword, but he did not let the pain stop him from pressing his assault, attacking stubbornly using his other fist to press the woman.

The reason for the extreme choice was immediately apparent; in front of the Khan appeared Chrom, who was thrusting his sword in a lunge to her stomach, hoping to land a decisive hit now that the two Shepherds locked her.

The sovereign's grin widened, and she simply adjusted her bust to let the prince's sword pass harmlessly at her side, leaving the young Lord's noes tucked at few centimetres from her body.

That was when the Khan threw her head back and head-butted the Prince in the forehead. The blue-haired swordsman groaned in pain, not expecting the vicious hit, and was forced on one knee from the sheer force of the impact.

That only lasted a fraction of a second though. Gritting his teeth in determination, Chrom immediately recovered his bearings and answered the attack in kind, throwing himself at the woman and head butting her on her chin.

Surprised by the tenacity and still stopped by the various forces of the other two Ylissean, Flavia could only take her first hit in the battle.

She growled at the sudden spike of pain, but smiled at the group, "Good..." She murmured, extremely pleased by the tide of the battle.

Nevertheless, it was now the time to finish the duel.

She proceeded to launch away the two Shepherds, still locked in a contest of strength from the previous struggle, and before Chrom could react, kicked the Ylissean prince in the stomach, sending him flying back a few feet away.

Flavia was once again pleasantly surprised of how the group immediately fell back in position, still ready to continue the assault. It was a shame that she would have to end this.

She did not want to injure her new champions, after all.

"Good." She announced, sheathing her sword with a pleased smile and cracking her neck. After a bit of hesitation, the trio of Ylissean warriors followed her example and relaxed, nursing the various places where they were hit.

"This is an excellent warm up. I can't believe you brats were that good together." Her smile turned malicious, and said, "The old bastard is up to bad surprise in the tournament! That pretty boy has no chance!" the Khan commented jovially, much to the three Shepherds pride and satisfaction.

"It is an honour being praised by such a great warrior. Thank you Flavia." Chrom answered with a matching smile, while letting his sister and retainer check on him for possible injuries or concussion.

"But next time, you can be damn sure we will beat the shit out of you!" Sully declared, while letting Maribelle check her body much like the princess was doing with her brother, grunting a quiet thanks.

"Maybe in ten years you'll have a chance, brat!" The Khan replied good naturally, taunting the girl, who just grinned at the challenge.

"Yeah! But man, how did you do that awesome axe breaking thing? The Vaike wants to do the same!" the tanned Shepherd said, prompting a laugh from the East-Khan.

"That old trick? That is nothing special. Just pure strength and a bit of boost from magic at the right time." She replied, causing Vaike to smile at the suggestion.

"A good fight Milord, Sully, Vaike." Frederick interjected, catching the attention of the fighters. The three strengthened their back, fully facing the Great Knight, as in waiting.

Frederick smiled slightly at the scene, and said "Vaike, you still tend to be too wasteful when you panic, continue to rectify that. Nevertheless, your battle instincts are top notch, as always, and I applaud your tenacity and readiness when you lost your weapon. However, I suggest that in a different situation, to reach for another weapon in the vicinity, like the axe Lady Flavia lost." He commented.

Vaike grunted and nodded in affirmation, simply replying with an unusually quiet "I will."

Turning his attention towards the lone female of the group, the older knight continued, "Sully, excellent form, but you have to work on your tunnel vision. When you launched that Javelin, you could have retrieved it and used it again, or when your lance was blocked, you could have tried a more physical approach. Continue like this and you will be an irreplaceable knight for Ylisse." He complimented with a rare smile, causing the redhead to peer in pride.

At least, Frederick faced his charge, eyeing him critically. "Excellent form Milord, as expected. However, I believe you should be more decisive at the start of the fight. You let Vaike and Sully take the lead at first, letting them at their own device when you could have aided them." He explained.

Chrom twitched in shame at the comment, but nodded and said, "I see. Thank you Frederick."

Frederick nodded and, this time, addressed the entire group, "You three did a good job. Your teamwork was excellent, way beyond something that I could handle by myself. Be proud of this fight, and use it as a stepping-stone to improve on your weakness and strength. Lady Flavia is no normal foe. That you fared this well despite your age and inexperience is a testament of your skills."

Chrom felt a sudden and heavy pat on his back. "Your teacher is right lads. Vanity aside, I am the strongest warrior in East-Ferox by a large margin, and even in the West-Ferox, only Basilio can match or defeat me. You surprised me." The dark skinned Hero admitted smiling.

The three nodded once again, but did not reply.

"The tournament is in three days, and is a team competition with each team made of six members. I have little doubt that you will win. I suggest you to rest for a bit. We can decide the details later." The Khan said.

At the confirmation of the Prince, she excused herself.

Chrom turned towards the Shepherds, letting them assault him, Sully and Vaike with the congratulations and the worries of the group.

Now he had to decide whom to take a tournament.

* * *

"Captain." Chrom suddenly heard from behind, lightly startling him. Interrupting his solitary training, the Lord unsheathed his training sword. Facing the person, Chrom frowned when he did not immediately see someone.

"Oh… is everything alright?" the disembodied voice talked again, much to the prince's confusion. He blinked, and the air was replaced by the bulky figure of his fellow but quite elusive Shepherd, Kellam.

"Yes, everything is fine. I was just thinking about… the tournament." The captain quickly deflected. Naga bless his soul, the Knight simply nodded and accepted the explanation with a small but strangely eager smile.

"About that, Captain have you decided whom to take with you?" he asked, showing a bit of nervousness. The prince shook his head negative, "I wanted to make this voluntary, but I would like Miriel and Virion for support. Maybe Maribelle in case of healing." The blue haired Lord admitted, scratching his chin in thought.

"I see..." the man replied quietly, shifting uneasily at the admission. Chrom glanced at him, unable to comprehend what his companion wanted to say and why he approached him. Unless…

"Do you wish to participate in the tournament Kellam?" the swordsman asked uncertain. That would be strange for the inconspicuous knight. Kellam was quiet, reserved, and never asked favours, at least from him.

So it was a surprise when the black haired knight's face lit up and smiled happily at him. "Yes Captain. I mean, if it's not a problem." He quickly added, returning in a more serious mood.

Chrom smiled, pleasantly surprised at the request, "I do not see any problem in that." The Lord said, accepting the Knight's request without hesitation. "However, I have to ask, why the sudden interest? Pardon the rudeness, but you never seem to care much about this." Chrom questioned in curiosity, observing as Kellam simply blushed and scratched behind his back in embarrassment. "Ah well, I have been training a lot in this couple of weeks." The man admitted, and the prince nodded in understanding, predicting where the story was going. "So I would like to test myself against some other fighters. The Undead are... not that dangerous once you know how to deal with them." he admitted shyly, much to the prince's amusement.

"I completely understand Kellam." Chrom said enthusiastically, much to the other man's surprise. In reality, the prince was in an extremely good mood at the revelation. It was an extremely rare occasion for him to talk to his unnoticed comrade, and discovering this newfound common ground made him feel more confident in the possibility of actually knowing him better.

"Then what about a spar with me?" Chrom proposed, not bothering to hide his slight excitement at the prospect, after all, a spar was the perfect opportunity for bonding and to forget all of the current political problems.

The black haired man hesitated for just a second before answering with a determined smile, "If it is not a problem then yes, Captain."

The Lord smiled back and glanced around, "Good. Now to find a referee… excellent. Virion?" He called out, surprising the passing Archer, who blinked in confusion at the sudden call but seamlessly smiled back at his new superior and approached him.

"Ah, hello, my brave Captain. What can this magnificent archer do for you on this fine day? Maybe, in acknowledge of my exceptional capabilities, you wish to ask me to join your group that will decide the fate of our fair Khan?" the noble asked with a practiced but always courteous bow.

Chrom chuckled at his newest member's mannerisms, still unused to his floral way of talking, but he answered as amicably as him, "The thought crossed my mind Virion; if you wish to join, you are welcome to the team. I will not force you in this task if you do not want to."

Virion replied by bestowing a secure smile upon him and boasted, "Then it is my wish to participate with you and our other comrades. I will gift Regna Ferox of a free demonstration of the Archest Archer's extraordinary abilities."

Chrom accepted the answer with a simple gesture and said, "Thank you Virion. I am sure your help will be fundamental to our victory. But that is not why I called you here." The prince admitted.

The Archer looked at him curiously, "I see. Very well, what did you wish to ask me?" he said.

The swordsman smiled "I am going to spar right now, and I would like someone to referee us and maybe help us point out our mistakes. I just saw you and called you here, and I am sure that with your insight you will find out something." He explained curtly, making the foreign noble nod in satisfaction at the reason.

"It would me my pleasure. And who will be the brave soul that will challenge our fearsome captain in a direct duel? Maybe Sir Vaike again? Or the always determined Lady Sully?" Virion asked lightly at the prince.

"That would be me." The unexpected voice of the forgotten knight replied, making the silver haired foreigner startled at the sudden appearance and even Chrom, who already knew he was present, flinched back at the words.

"Goodness! Since when… oh. It is you Sir Kellam." Virion quickly recomposed himself and greeted with a sigh of relief to the Knight. "It is my understanding that you are going to challenge our Captain?" he added briefly after, smiling at him now that he was aware of his presence.

"Yes, Sir Virion." Kellam curtly replied with a small nod.

"Excellent!" the Valmese exclaimed in delight while clapping his hands. "Knowing that both our contestants are here, I suggest there is no point in delaying, am I right?" he asked.

When he received only nods of acceptance and hot-blooded determination, the Archer sighed long and gave the two fighters some space, positioning himself at the edge of the training room.

"If you gentlemen are ready, give me a clean fight. Go." The archer called, signalling the start of the fight.

Kellam had only the time to position himself in a comfortable manner before Chrom charged him immediately after his fellow noble began the spar.

Unable to move as quickly as the Captain with his heavy armour, Kellam could only prepare himself to take the hit with his shield. When the sword clashed, Kellam grunted in surprise, the strength of his opponent far superior to what he expected, and Kellam was forced back by the sheer strength behind the swing of the Lord.

The Knight grimaced at the result, but he had no time to ponder this result because the swordsman was already on him again, more than willing to press the advantage.

"I will not fail this!" he said, announcing his arrival.

Kellam took a step back and angled his shield, preparing for the hit. Chrom grimaced, seeing his powerful attack being deflected by his knight and hitting the ground, cracking it.

Kellam did not waste the opportunity, and started his counter attack, thrusting his training lance against the Lord.

The blue-haired royal hastily dropped towards the ground, evading the attack, and immediately rolled away from another stab of the Knight that threatened his back.

Kellam continued his assault, not giving the Prince any time to recover properly his footing. This time, it was he who charged the Ylissean prince, his enormous shield overwhelming the surprised Lord who was barely able to start rising on his feet.

"Gah!" Kellam heard the prince say, hearing the heavy thud of Chrom's body hitting the ground. Seizing the opportunity, the Knight struck his spear again, only to see the prince rolling back. It wasn't for nothing though, because the spear gazed Chrom's back, ripping his clothes and drawing first blood.

Then the spear pierced the captain's cape, and the battle changed.

Immediately discarding his cape, Chrom quickly got up, and in a moment, he regained his footing and readied himself for another possible assault. Kellam prepared his lance, but he noticed that with the cape of the swordsmen was stuck, obscuring his already limited view.

He quickly discarded it, but those moments of distraction were all Chrom needed to go on the attack. He ran towards the Knight and, using all his strength, swung against the unprepared Shepherd, hitting at full force his shield. This time, the knight was sent stumbling back, falling on his back by the massive force used by the powerful Lord.

Following his comrade steps, Chrom pressed the advantage and charged to finish the duel. Seeing the figure approach, Kellam did the only thing he could think of to slow him down, he threw his shield, effectively stopping him in his track to evade the reckless attack.

Not wasting the few moments he bought, the forgotten knight jumped on his feet, this time holding his lance with both his arms.

He made to attack, but Chrom was already on him, swinging his sword from above. Kellam stepped aside, barely evading the hit, and swirled his lance to hit the prince with the back of his weapon.

The trick worked, the wooden part hitting painfully under the swordsman's chin, giving the Knight the opportunity to take the distance necessary to properly use his mid-ranged weapon.

He thrusted, targeting his captain's chest, but Chrom swiftly evaded the attack and stubbornly engaged.

From there, the two fell in a pattern; Chrom, being the more competent of the two in one on one combat, would engage and slowly close the distance from the two, forcing Kellam to barely evade with surprising speed from all the powerful attacks that he was on the receiving end of. At that point, the black-haired knight would swirl his lance in the same way than before, forcing the prince to give him ground and pass at the attack, only for Chrom to eventually press again by sheer ability and brute force.

The two continued this dance for a couple of minutes, up until the least experienced and resistant of the two made a slip. Kellam overextended his thrust, giving the Prince the chance needed to conclude the duel.

With a last, powerful swing, Chrom hit his comrade at his stomach, thankfully protected by armour. The armour cracked a bit but, more importantly, sent the Knight on the ground, where the prince could easily point his sword at Kellam's throat.

Panting, the swordsman grinned while he heard Virion calling the spar as his win and let out a huge sigh of relief, exhausted by the intense fight "Good sparring Kellam." He called, extending his hand to help the other man get up.

Kellam sighed, visibly downcast at the defeat, but took the hand of his prince without more hesitation. "Yeah, thanks Captain." He answered, while being helped on his feet.

"An exemplary fight, you two!" the enthusiastic exclamation of their referee interrupted the two. "What a beautiful example of quick thinking! Such show of passion and determination! Clearly, the both of you are warriors of high calibre; deign to represent the best that the Kingdom of Ylisse has to offer!" Virion continued to exclaim theatrically.

Kellam coughed into his fist, flushing in embarrassment at the colourful praise, unused to such attention being put on himself.

"But as fine warriors, we all strive to reach even better heights! As such, it will be I to guide you to the path of perfection! My excellent sight picks up some issues that I would like to explain, if you would like me." The Archer said, waiting for the two for an answer.

Kellam simply nodded in confirmation, fidgeting nervously at the thought of critique. Chrom was more relaxed and answered, "Of course. Do not fear to offend us."

Virion smiled satisfied and straightened himself, resembling to Chrom one of his instructor on his younger days.

"First of all, for all my incredible abilities, I regret to say that my strength resides in the art of archery than in other types of weapons. As such, with my limited knowledge, I cannot find any weakness in your proficiency." The Valmese explained with a small, regretful smile. The two did not seem to take the information in a bad way, simply accepting the fact.

"But do not fear, my dear comrade, for I am gifted not only with grandiose archery skills, but even with a keen tactical mind!" he added jovially.

"And with this new, revealed ability, I am more than capable to point outsome errors! First of all, our inconspicuous friend, Kellam. Your mastery of the shield is something that I never saw before in the soldiers of my homeland. That you just abandoned it and engaged in single combat was a sad waste of ability." He commented, before adding, "But with this, I did not intend to condemn the action in itself. Oh no! What a bold move it was, throwing your shield to stop the enemy charge! A move that could be easily sung in legends! However, I digress. What I suggest is to use the times that you created to breathe to retrieve your main vantage, instead to press the attack against a superior opponent."

With every word, Kellam became increasingly more nervous at the praise and the criticism, but in the end, the man nodded in understanding, and hastily bowed in thanks.

"I see, t-thank you Sir Virion." He simply said at the end of it.

Virion then turned to face the prince of Ylisse, his expression showing the same jovial smile that he had while talking to the Knight, "Now, my captain, I must regretfully admit that when I heard tales of your 'monstrous' strength, I was slightly skeptical. To my shame, even after witnessing your fight against the beautiful Lady Flavia I was not fully aware of the extent of your power. But how wrong I was! Cracking armours with a well-placed hit! Recoiling a grown man in full armour with a swing! Truly the makings of a legendary king!" He started to compliment the captain, before continuing with the actual review.

"However, I saw that such strength comes with the same fabled drawback; you, my captain, are fairly slow and obvious when you are to deploy such immense power. Even Sir Kellam who is a man whose advantage resides in his shield, could evade you once without the weight of his shield." He explained in a more serious tone. Chrom grimaced at the analysis, but nodded, signalling his attention at the archer words.

"It is regretful to say, but a balance must be found between your enormous power and the speed necessary against the more… slippery opponents."

Chrom sighed in defeat and nodded, grumbling childishly a lament under his breath. He did not fully voice his displeasure thought, knowing well that this was a big issue in his fighting. Noticing this, the archer smiled slightly and added, "However there are other methods, even if it is not so safe or honourable." Virion admitted, catching the attention of the Lord.

"… please, explain." Chrom asked curiosity piqued.

Virion nodded, "Of course. The first method is something that I vividly advise against, it is bait. When in an advantageous position, create a false opportunity, a clever trap, for your enemy to use. Once he takes it, you will know well where to strike, and have that moment necessary to use your full strength. Obviously, that is a very dangerous path. A single mistake could cost you the battle or worse, your life." He said, now completely lacking his usual polite and calm smile.

Chrom hummed and gave his affirmation, thinking about what his comrade suggested. It was dangerous, yes, but used at the right time, it could easily turn the tide of a battle… if it was a one on one. In any other situation, that would be a reckless and stupid move, even he could recognize that.

"The other one is disruption." Virion continued, interrupting the prince brief moment of reflection. "An archer needs various conditions to successfully hit its target. One of them is a good footing." Chrom was quick to catch up on what he wanted to say.

"I see. Disturbing the enemy footing to prevent them from slipping away…" or, in other words, going for their legs. That really gave him a horrible taste in his mouth, and that is only thinking about doing it.

"Thank you for your critique, Virion. This has been useful." Chrom said, smiling at the man.

"Yes. Thank you." Kellam echoed from… somewhere, much to the twos slight surprise and irritation.

"It was my pleasure." The archer replied, giving them his usual smile now that the conversation was over. "If I may be bold, I suggest us to retire for a snack. After all, after such an intense fight, you must be extremely tired, my friends."

Chrom smiled and nodded, the thought of food instantly lifting his spirit. "It is an excellent idea Virion. Would you like to join us?"

* * *

The stadium roared as the announcer loudly called in and presented the West-Khan's team, cheerfully describing every fighters accomplishment, hyping the immense crowd that filled the Arena Ferox.

Chrom looked back at his team, who was strangely enough doing a group stretching led by Vaike, "Good, good, follow ol' Teach's advices. Do ya feel your legs burning?" He asked in his personal mix of cheerfulness and cockiness, much to some of the Shepards irritation.

"Ugh, we know how stretching works, Vaike! Could you spare us the commentary?" Maribelle lamented angrily, much to the Fighter's amusement.

Now, Maribelle stop bein' a stuck up. Even Chrom joined us, see?" He replied, pointing at the young prince at his back who, indeed was doing some quick stretching at his legs and arms, following his subordinates lead.

It was strangely relaxing, and the little nerves he had at the thought of fighting in front of such a big crowd and two of the most fearsome warriors on the continent was immediately subdued by the group antics.

"Admirable." Miriel commented, breathing deeply to recover her breath and concentration, "But we must step on the field. I believe they are going to call us now." She added, making the group stop their pre-fight exercise.

"Our lovely mage is right. The announcer is ending his speech. I believe we are against two knights, two mages, a healer and a particularly skilled Valmese Myrmidon. Lon'qu I believe he is called. He is the Champion who led the West Ferox to a flawless victory last time." Virion reassessedfor the group, approaching their only healer.

Maribelle raised an eyebrow at his unexpected approach, but did not react further.

"I'll take him." The Prince immediately said, stepping in the arena to evade any protest, in particular from his best friend Fighter. Predictably, that did not stop him from lamenting, "Wha? No fair! I wan' him!" He screamed out, but his voice was drowned by the cheersof the crowd.

"Stop complaining, brute! Follow the prince! We do not want to tarnish the Ylisse name with your poor presentation!" Maribelle snapped, now saddled on her horse. Vaike grumbled at her harsh words but complied, reaching for his axe.

He tasted only air. Panicking, he patted frantically at his side, searching for the handle of the axe.

"On the other side." Kellam helpfully said, appearing abruptly by him. Vaike did not even react at the usual ghostly appearance. He simply reached for his axe and, when he felt the handle, sighed loudly in evident relief.

"Thanks man!" He said, bolting out of the corridor in the arena, reaching Chrom with a broad smile and swinging his weapon broadly in a show off to impress the audience.

Maribelle was the next Shepherd to follow the Fighter, the young duchess showing herself more composed and elegant in contrast of her tanned skinned comrade. Her image was strongly enhanced by Virion's companionship, who followed right behind her horse, smiling and waving politely and charmingly at the audience.

Miriel was the last to be seen entering the coliseum, slowly walking behind her comrades, adjusting her glasses in a rare tick of nervousness that only few could recognize, even from her close friend.

The announcer glanced perplexedly at the Shepherd's number, and made to ask them where their last member was, only for the 'lost' Knight to suddenly appear right behind his captain with a nervous smile on his face, unnerving the announcer and their adversaries.

A short-haired, jet blacked man glanced unnerved between the two girls and the silent knight, a bead of sweat falling on his neck.

The Ylissean prince, who smiled determinedly at the group, interrupted his musing, "I hope for a good fight Sir… Lon'qu." He declared, making the man look at the Lord.

Lon'qu only grunted and did not bother to reply at the declaration, but he did repay the strong look with one of his own.

Pleasantries exchanged, the two opposite groups split, walking towards the opposite ends of the arena, reading themselves for the battle.

Chrom turned towards the group and said, "As discussed, I will leavethe more tactical decisions to you two, Virion, Miriel."

The archer smiled confidently and bowed elegantly, "As you wish, captain. Let it be said that Virion will not let your trust go waste, and with the help of the incredibly knowledgeable Miriel, I can confidently say that the path to our glorious victory will be quickly revealed." He boasted.

Miriel nodded and, touching her Fire Book, replied, "While I find this arrangement unsatisfactory, I will do my utmost best to help my comrades to reach this important victory. Being the most experienced between the two, I will be in your care, Virion." She said with a small frown.

"Of course." The noble accepted easily, before turning towards the group, "If I may, our first priority would be to defeat all the enemy magic users. As such, I request our captain, Vaike and Kellam to keep occupied all the fighters, while me and Lady Maribelle will take down the Mages. Lady Miriel, I would ask you to support them." He explained his plan.

Chrom grimaced at the idea, wanting to duel that Lon'qu personally, but nodded in confirmation. While he would if it somehow came back to a one on one, he had much at stake here. The more time he spent at Ferox, the more time Emmeryn would be alone at the palace and his kingdom unprotected.

"Very well." He finally confirmed, making the group nod in determination. That was when the match began.

Immediately, Chrom and Vaike charged towards the enemy group, seeing how the enemy's knights were doing the same.

Miriel and Kellam where right behind them, more than willing to support the two main fighters of the group but both slower than the other two, may it be for lack of physical fitness in comparison or the heavy armour.

The enemy team was the one to make the first, real attack: the mages both launched a Thunder spell in the midst of their formation, aiming to hit or to slow down the Shepherd's charge. The attack was easily evaded, but the primitive strike had the curious effect of splitting the group, with Chrom and Vaike now separated from one another and Kellam and Miriel behind the two.

"From the sides!" Virion immediately ordered from the top of Maribelle's horse, who was circling the group.

While the two close-ranged fighters did not stop their charge, they hesitated, not understanding the vague order.

The red-headed mage frowned, but started to prepare for an attack. When she saw Chrom and Vaike at an appropriate distance against their enemy, she shot a fireball in the midst of the enemy group, mimicking their strategy.

She heard a loud "Dodge!" from their side and, predictably the Knights and the Myrmidon expertly evaded the attack. The mages were not so skilled. Thanks to the scream, they started to jump away, but only one of the two, a male, middle-aged, scarred warrior got out unscathed, while the other, a slightly younger man, was partially hit by the aftermath of the flames. He hissed in pain, but true to the experience the group projected, did not dwell on it and pushed forward.

That is when the Lord and the Fighter sprang against the now divided group; targeting the two Knights in a furious and powerful attack that they barely blocked with their shields.

They did not stop there though. Before one of the mages could intervene, the two were already swinging again at their chosen enemies, fully cladded in armour, and kept them from the opportunity to react.

Vaike was the first of the two to land a hit on his enemy, screaming joyfully at the sound of his axe clashing on the enemy armour, and sending him a few feet back.

That is when he heard the crackling of thunder, and he had barely any time to dodge before the spell crashed where Vaike was a mere fraction of asecond before.

An incredibly fast arrow planting itself in the shoulder of the mage, immediately followed by another that pierced the Fire Tome, was the reward the younger mage got for his stunt, effectively eliminating him from the competition.

"Excellent shot, Sir Virion." Maribelle complimented her fellow noble while riding the horse to distance themselves from the battle.

"It is my pleasure, Milady"

Kellam glanced at the defeated mage, feeling a spike of satisfaction at the small victory, but the distraction was immediately punished by a violent and quick slash to his side. Thankfully the armour protected him, but the impact was still strong enough to make him flinch.

"Tch." His adversary said in irritation, the myrmidon following the gaze and noticing his defeated comrade.

He tried to engage the female mage to eliminate the support for the two fighters, but his charge was stopped by the sudden appearance of the ghostly Knight. Thinking quickly, he decided to disengage to defeat the two before they could offer more support to their comrades.

He used the brief moment of pain of the Knight to disengage, springing away from him, only for the dark haired Shepherd stopping him with an incredibly fast stab at Lon'qu's guts, "Miriel!" He screamed.

The Valmese fighter easily evaded the desperate attempt, but he was forced to stop his disengagement by a relatively small but incredibly fast fireball hitting his left leg.

"Argh!"

Kellam pushed the little window of vantage he had, and with a snap evaluation, he decided to throw at the injured enemy his shield, and the Knight immediately decided to follow the shield in a reckless charge against the swordsman.

Lon'qu hissed in pain, but despite the damage, he was able to move away from the unexpected attack, if only barely, deflecting the shield with his sword. He was still unprepared for the now faster Knight thrusting his spear.

He instinctively tried to dodge, but the spike of pain made the endeavour much more difficult. In that split second, he deflected the spear, much to the Knight's irritation.

They both clenched their teeth, gauging their adversary and the situation.

The Myrmidon looked at the situation of his teammates, and he did not like what he saw. Their healer was strangely absent, probably taken down from the fight, judging by how the Cleric was healing the injured younger mage at the edge of the arena, while the more experienced man was trying to take down the couple composed by the Troubadour and the Archer. It was proving to be difficult, because the woman not only had a horse that did seem extremely well trained to face spontaneous attacks of magic, but had the archer to counterattack and delay the mage.

The two Knights were still under the furious assault of the Lord and the Fighter, both of them clearly proved by the continuous onslaught.

"You should pay attention." Kellam called out, snapping Lon'qu out of his musing. The swordsman barely deflected another thrust at his head, and he decided to focus again on his current enemy.

He thought about his situation. He was injured, could not move as well as he normally could, and they were down of two people, but they could still salvage the battle.

The first step would be to defeat the Knight in front of him. While it would have been easier without his injury, even in his state he judged that his enemy was still slower than he was, with or without his shield was, and definitely less skilled with his weapon than the swordsman. If he defeated him before his companions fell… he could deal with the mage woman and then team up with the group and defeat the rest.

With this new realization and his determination newly sparked, Lon'qu moved, pushing despite the pain. Moving surprisingly quickly, the man assaulted his enemy with a quick slash, immediately entering in the enemy guard.

Kellam expertly deviated or blocked the majority attack, but the difference in skill and speed was clear to him and everyone watching the battle, the man landing a series of hits even in his weakened state. He needed his shield back.

He slowly started to give terrain, backtracking to approach the abandoned shield. Too focused on ending the battle quickly, Lon'qu did not notice this. Instead, seeing the Knight losing ground, he renewed all his energy to finish the battle faster.

That was his error.

Once at the shield, but still overwhelmed the Valmese, Kellam had only an idea: he stopped for a moment, letting a hit land on his side. Ignoring the pain, he kicked the shield towards the Myrmidon, making it slide on the terrain right when the man lunged for the final hit.

Despite the surprise, Lon'qu succeeded in jumping over the shield, only to widely open his eyes when he realized his predicament. With a scream, Kellam slammed the back of the lance on the stomach of the dark-haired swordsman who, still in the air, could not evade the attack.

The Myrmidon fell on his back with a pained hiss, his sight shortly confused. When he opened his eyes, he saw a breathless Knight pointing the iron spear at his throat.

"Y-yield." Kellam panted covered in sweat, observing him closely so he could not make any move.

Lon'qu gritted his teeth in frustration, but nodded. "I yield. You win." He admitted.

As he said that, Kellam smiled elatedly and immediately shifted the spear from the man, turning towards his shield to pick it up and go help his friends.

That is when Virion's voice rumbled in the arena. "Disengage!" he said confidently.

Chrom and Vaike followed the order, leaving the two fatigued knights in confusion.

"**Desist at once!**" Miriel exclaimed, power dripping from her voice. With a single movement of her hand, fire erupted.

A stream flowed towards the two fatigued men, engulfing the two for a full second. Vaike and Chrom had to shield their eyes to protect themselves from the light.

As soon as it came, the powerful spell ended, leaving the two knights on their knees.

Lon'qu cursed, while the older mage looked at the two conditions and immediately screamed, "I forfeit! Healers!"

The crowd exploded in cheer and awe, with the announcer calling the match.

The Shepherds had won.

* * *

"Well fought Shepherds! You have my gratitude and thanks, but more on point, you will soon have your alliance." Flavia congratulated us, smiling broadly at the group from the head of the table.

"Truly? My thanks East-Khan." Chrom replied with a joyous smile at her left side.

"So that was what you used to get them on your side uh?" A huge, bald, dark-skinned man with a black eye-patch grumbled in slight irritation.

"Yes Basilio. Stop sulking, you are going to spoil the party." Flavia snapped, glaring at him in challenge. When the West-Khan did not reply, she turned towards the Ylissean Prince with a smile. "Forget about him. He's just sour that his pupil lost. I'll make everything official tomorrow morning. But before that, my friends, we celebrate!" she screamed, rising her goblet of alcohol to the sky, starting the festivities.

The room cheered and immediately chatter started to spread, devolving in a chaotic mess of cheers and laughs.

Flavia gulped all the content of the admittedly big goblet in one go, sighing in satisfaction, "War Father, it feels like years that I've held full power." She said, prompting the West Khan to roll his only visible eye in exasperation. "It's been only four years, you dramatic…" he grumbled.

Fortunately, the woman was too absorbed in her alcohol to hear him, so Chrom decided to interrupt him to defuse a possible in fight between the two.

"And you must be-" he started to say, only for the dark-skinned man to glare at him, "I am the West-Khan you so rudely removed from power, brat!" he said, half screaming.

Chrom would have been intimidated by the reply if it wasn't for the good-natured and relaxed smile that he was showing him. "You and your militia are extremely handy with your swords. Or weapons in general. To see Lon'qu being defeated… I am impressed. I'm glad you guys showed him that he still has a long way to go." He laughed, patting the mentioned man on his back right at his right side.

Lon'qu just grunted in affirmation while drinking from a smaller cup a bit of what the Lord thought was wine, glancing around the table in search of something. Or someone.

"Thank you. Honestly, I did not expect our Kellam to be the one to defeat him. I wanted to fight him personally, and from the little I saw I'm not sure I'd be able to win." Chrom confessed while starting to calmly eat the fillet steakof horsemeat.

"Truly? Well, it is true that he was injured at the leg, limiting him. What do you think Lon'qu?" Basilio asked the Myrmidon looking at him.

The dark-haired swordsman took a moment to finish sipping his beverage, clearly thinking at the question deeply.

When he placed the cup on the table, he answered softly, "I was faster and more skilled with my weapon even with my injury. I… would have fallen for his strategy anyway." He confessed regretfully, much to the Khan's hilarity.

"You would have, would you? Bah, do not be so sour. I would have fallen for it too." He said easily.

That is when Flavia intervened in the conversation, "Yeah. Never seen someone using the shield that way in all my years. Is everyone in your team so skilled Chrom?" She asked curiously.

Chrom hummed in thought and glanced at the table. All the Shepherds were close to their group, with Vaike and Sully closer to him, Sumia and Lissa on the West-Khan' side of the table, protected by the ever-vigilant Frederick.

"Well, Frederick is the strongest between us." He explained, glancing at the Great Knight who, noticing his gaze, saluted him with a severe nod.

Chrom smiled and nodded back, turning his attention back to the Feroxi group, Chrom continued to explain; "After him, Khan Flavia fought and defeated our best. Me, Vaike and Sully. Frederick trained us since we were kids." The blue-haired Lord said, smiling slightly at the fond memories of being continuously beaten by the teen knight with his friend.

"You did?" Basilio asked curiously, turning towards the newly regent Khan. While he did not voice his curiosity, the Valmese swordsman followed the West-Khan's lead and looked at Flavia, waiting for an elaboration on their fight, intrigued.

"Yep. Feisty kids, the lot of them. The Prince even landed a head-butt on me." She told, massaging her chin with a smirk. "He has a really hard head." She commented half-mockingly.

Basilio laughed, clearly impressed by the answer and said, "Maybe you are getting sloppy. You sure you aren't just too weak?" he asked with a grin.

"I can beat the shit out of you any time old bat!" Flavia snapped, glaring at him and reaching for her axe at her side. She did not actually hold it and continued to explain,

"The three of them had a damn fine spirit. The dumb one…" she pointed at an unassuming Vaike, who blinked as if sensing the insult, before simply shrugging and ignoring it to continue talking with Maribelle, strangely enough; "… continued to fight even after I shattered his axe. Tried to pummel me with his fists." Basilio whistled impressed, and Lon'qu blinked and turned his gaze to the Fighter in contemplation.

"The redhead was a beast, always attacking. She made me lose my axe." She added, pointing at Sully, who did not take notice of it in her conversation with Sumia and Stahl. Chrom heard something about cooking and, judging by the horrified expression of the two, she was the one sharing some 'recipes'.

Chrom blanched. Thinking about those particular incidents made his stomach hurt. He stopped eating, suddenly not wanting to touch food.

Noticing the gaze, Flavia added, "She is shit at cooking though."

Basilio snickered, and he could not resist the snipe, "Like you?" The East-Khan opened her mouth to strongly protest, giving the man a furious look. However, she stopped in her tracks and diverted her gaze, silently conceding the point.

Basilio laughed mockingly. Lon'qu coughed and diverted his eyes in embarrassment.

Chrom did not bother to hide his movement, slowly turning away the plate in front of him, suddenly losing all of his appetite.

"Anyway…," he continued to say, trying to divert the attention to the current topic of conversation, "… we have Sumia, our only Pegasus Knight, the third-best trainee of her year. Virion is an extremely skilled archer, probably the best I have ever seen until now. Then we have Stahl. He is much better than a regular soldier is, but he is… not the weakest but… average? He is a strange case. You have seen what Kellam is capable of." He stopped to take his time, drinking from his cup.

"Then we have our mages. Miriel is the best mage graduated from the academy in the decade and then we have Ricken, a young prodigy who is currently in Ylisstol to give his lasts exams. In magic ability, he is just slightly under Miriel, despite the age difference." He concluded.

Basilio nodded and glanced at Lon'qu who simply grunted, evading his eye.

"That is a good group you have here." The West-Khan complimented. "A bit lacking in some areas, but nothing that a good recruiting could not help." He added, smiling.

Chrom nodded, accepting the compliment with pride. If the Shepherds impressed both the Khans, a fearsome warrior-king in their own right, then he was doing well. He could protect Ylisse and his sister with their help.

"And that is why…" Basilio continued, smiling happily at the Prince, "I want you to take Lon'qu with you. Think of it as the West Ferox's contribution to the Ylissean cause." He concluded.

Chrom made to reply, only for nothing to come out of his mouth. He tried again, but he was rewarded with the same result. "Speechless boy?" Basilio bragged, causing Flavia to growl in irritation.

The Prince turned towards the Myrmidon, and this time he succeeded in saying, "Are you fine with this?"

Lon'qu hummed his consent, "He gives orders. I stab people. I think our roles are clear. Plus…" he glanced at Chrom's left, where Kellam should be sat as the star of today's battle. No one seems to be there.

"I want a rematch." He said determinedly.

"Oh… ok." Kellam replied appearing sat at his side, much to his fright. Kellam looked a mix of embarrassment and fright, maybe because he was not used to the general attention at his person, even if they simply talked of him.

Lon'qu glared at him, while Basilio and Flavia grumbled to themselves, swearing that the Knight was a ghost of some kind.

He could not blame them. He thought that too sometimes.

"All right then, welcome aboard." The Lord said. The blue-haired prince then got up and, raisinghis half-emptied cup to the sky, he called the attention of his comrades.

"Shepherds." He called, making the group fall in silence.

"I propose a toast to celebrate today's events!" He said, much to the enthusiasm of some of his comrades, more noticeable of Vaike, Virion and Frederick.

"To Kellam and his extraordinary victory!" he announced, making the man blush wildly, before he vanished again on what he was sure was the higher planes.

"_To Kellam!"_ the table repeated in cheer.

"To Lon'qu, our new comrade!" he announced again, making the more party-oriented Shepherds go wild in cheer.

"_To Lon'qu!"_

Chrom glanced at Flavia and Basilio, waiting for their input for the final and most important cheer. Grinning at him, the two got up and raised their beverages.

"**To the Ylissean-Feroxi Alliance**!" the three said together, their voice rumbling in the room.

This time, the entire party replied, cheering as one.

"**To the Alliance!**" they shouted, before the groups devolved into chaos and screams again.

Chrom smiled.

Everything was just perfect.

**Author Notes:**

**Hello fellas. I'm back with the new chapter. Sorry for the long wait. It was pure laziness.**

**However, if you want to read the other chapters, go see the story on Spacebattles. There are more updated there, but they lack the proofreading of my Beta. At least up until now, so the next chapters will be published soon.**

**Up to you, really.**

**Back to the story.**

**Unfortunately, this is purely a Shepherds chapter, so no Hachiman for today. I spiced things up a bit for more diversity, so I hope it's enjoyable. What do you think about them? Do you think they are OOC?**

**On another note, the fights. What do you think of them? I am particularly proud of the Flavia vs Chrom, Vaike and Sully, while I am not completely sure of the arena.**

**Talking about that, I did not think that Kellam would have such a prominent role here. It just sort of happened. Yes, the training against Chrom was planned, but not his victory against Lon'qu. Do you think it's forced?**

**We both love seeing the support and the theories everyone has made.**

**See you next time!**

"Ya' have yer supplies Donny?"

"Yes Ma'."

"Yer lance?"

"Yes Ma'."

"Yer books?"

"Yes."

"Yer spare clothes?"

"Yes."

"Yer spare underwe-"

"Ma'!"

The woman sighed in defeat.

"… the rock, son?"

Donnel nodded and patted his bag, smiling at his father. The man grinned back and quickly removed his son's pot from his head to ruffle his already messy hair.

"We're proud of ya' son. Now go." He encouraged, hiding a bit of melancholy from his voice. Donnel hesitated a bit to comply, waiting for his father to stop messing with his hair. When the Hero stopped, the young farmer launched himself in his arms, hugging him tightly.

Ardan was quick to return the gesture, as was Niamh who sobbed at the scene.

"Be safe, ok?" she simply asked.

Donnel nodded, still in his family embrace, but he was the first to let his parents go. Giving them his back, he ran towards the two figures waiting for him to finish his goodbyes.

Sir Hachiman and Lady Robin watched over him, the latter of which was smiling kindly at the young boy. "You finished, Donny?" She asked softly.

"Yes Lady Robin. Sorry for makin' ya wait." Donnel answered resolutely. Sir Hachiman nodded almost solemnly, helping him saddle the horse gifted to him by his father and said, "Then let's go." Before positioning himself behind Robin.

The group started to gallop away from the village, leaving behind two parents watching their only son departing towards the vast world beyond the island.

A loud whistle called their attention, and the group turned their heads to see that the group behind them suddenly increased tenfold.

Donnel recognized various people from the village, the embroider, the cattle breeder, the little militia, the hunter…

It was not just someone, Donnel realized. It was the entire village at the gates, cheering and waving him goodbye, screaming various recommendations and wishing him well.

Donnel did the only thing he could, he waved back, speechless, unable to reply in any way at the sight.

"It is ok to cry, you know?" Sir Hachiman said to him, much to his surprise.

Donnel turned towards the road and shielded his eyes with his trusted pot.

And he cried.


	7. Chapter 7

**Obviously, Plegia is as normal as you can get.**

A hard truth that I learned years ago was that people are not born equal.

No, this is not a quote from that popular manga, it is a simple fact. Various factors made this statement an absolute, if ugly, truth.

Let us take times, for instance. It would be presumptuous to call a man from the Stone Age equal to a man of the Kofun period. By the same logic, it would be ridiculous for a man of my age being considered equal to a man of the Nara period, or even of the Meji period.

Then there was the family where a person is born. Hikigaya Hachiman or Yuigahama Yui are not equal to Yukinoshita Yukino. For her being part of the Yukinoshita family meant that more doors were open to her, in both the good and bad way.

Then there was the last factor: talent. I admit I never took this last factor as something too important. Yes, it could be a factor to the success of a person but I simply considered it a head start more than something groundbreaking.

And back in my world, there was nothing that proved me wrong. After all, Yukinoshita Yukino was undisputedly a gifted girl, but the effort that she poured into all of her tasks was as much evident as her talent.

Unfortunately, this didn't seem to hold true in this world. Now I could better empathize with the sense of hopelessness and inferiority of that timid wannabe hero.

Watching a kid three years younger than you swirling his spear with hand play seen only in animation and effortlessly destroying a group of three Undead without outside help while you were struggling with only one of them was difficult to accept.

It was not like he had prior training before we both started handling a weapon. No, he had the advantage of having a better physique for that kind of training, but there should not be this muc-

"_Ya really like thinkin' kid…",_ the exasperated voice of my instructor whispered in the back of my mind when I saw another Undead, an axe wielder, suddenly attack me from my side.

Luckily for me, its attack was suddenly halted when a fireball exploded on its mask, shattering it. Without a sound, the monster vanished in dust.

I did not waste time on thanking the only mage of our group and looked around for any other foe left. Mercifully, while there were some possible spots for them to hide, the Undead were too idiotic to use them. There was only one left unengaged, and I was the closest to it.

So I charged, gripping tightly my only weapon, and thrusting my spear right at his mask. Predictably, I was too weak to break it with only one attack, and the Undead took the hit without dissolving into dust as it should. Fortunately, being that the mask was clearly important, it actually screamed in pain and winced violently in what is presumed pain, and took a step back.

The pain didn't stop him though. Giving me barely enough time to recover my footing, he swung his axe to my head. I hastily positioned the spear to intercept the weapon, blocking the attack. I immediately regretted the action when, the monster having much more force than I expected, I lost my balance and stumbled back.

Recognizing the bad situation, I allowed myself to make more distance between the two of us, thankfully evading another wide swing of the Undead, who was now moving even more erratically than normal.

I hesitated, watching my adversary nervously while it swung its axe wildly, preventing me from approaching it to finish the job.

I had to think about how to finish this. Ardan said that the vantage of a lance was the superior reach against any other weapon. I could use that.

However, approaching the Undead to hit him in the face was still dangerous, superior reach or not. It could easily deflect the attack with those erratic movements, and I did not trust myself enough to dodge a possible retaliation.

I took some more steps back, a bead of sweat sliding on my cheeks.

So if I could not attack the mask…

I glanced at its legs, left for the most part undefended by the monster.

Decision made, I moved as quickly as I could, preparing my weapon for the hit. Once the maddened Undead was in my reach, I swung the lance at his legs, hitting it with the entire pointed head. This resulted not only in a deep slash, which did not matter against such a foe, but more importantly in the monster losing his balance and falling on the ground.

That was my chance.

Before the monster could react, I closed the last distance and completely shattered the mask with a heavy thrust.

The Undead vanished, leaving me sweating in fear and panic.

"Good job sir!", the enthusiastic and happy voice of my new companion complimented me, much to my relief and irritation. Relief because if Donnel had the time to compliment me it would mean that no new Undead approached us, irritation because I still did not know how he could be so light hearted after fighting for his life.

Granted, this was the third group we fought together, but I could not be the only one to fear for myself when fighting.

In the end, I just sighed in both relief and resignation at the situation at hand and decided to simply answer back and suppress the irritation, "Thanks. You were very good Donnel. Robin?" I asked, turning towards her to not see the little prodigy smiling brightly at me as if I just gifted him a cool toy. Or a new hoe. I learned he really loved hoes.

My first companion smiled kindly at the younger boy and nodded in confirmation. "Yes. You were incredible, Donny. Are you two injured?" She asked, prompting the two of us to shake our head in negation.

"Just a bitty tired, Lady Robin." The Villager replied, making his pot shake, almost like it was ready to fall at a moments notice. Of course, I knew better than to think that. That pot never fell off of him if he didn't take it off himself. It never fell off, in training or in battle. I swear that pot has to be magical.

I glanced back at the albino, "Thanks for the save Robin." I thanked her, thinking back at the fireball that she casted that destroyed the Undead. She smiled and confidently replied, "Any time." Before going back to check Donnel, evidently satisfied of my condition.

I sighed, resigned to suffering the treatment. It was humiliating, being babied like that, but I accepted the necessity of the treatment.

"_Boy, be honest. Yer' ill?" I heard Ardan asking after the third day of training. I was resting, panting under a tree after he told me to stop. This was the first day I did not throw up after we finished. I could not resist my urge to glare at him. "Wha-uff? No!" I answered._

_Ardan blinked and scratched his chin, seemingly thinking about what he just asked. "Maybe nobody told ya'? Ya can live normally…" he commented, grimacing in frustration._

"_Yer body's strange. Weak. Yer sure?", he asked again, and this time, despite how tired I was, I thought about what he meant. The answer was easy to reach._

_My mind flashed at the brief fight Ardan had against that bandit and how inhumanly fast he moved. The strength he showed. The law of physics he broke._

_I grimaced. Yeah, to him, that level of strength was normal. Back home thought? Impossible. As in physically impossible._

"_Not that I know of." I settled to say, understanding the problem. Ardan seemed to catch my realization, showing once again that he was sharper than he looked._

"_Seems ya have an idea. Whatever it is, I can't train ya with my methods." He explained, grimacing._

And that was the truth of this world. People here were not equals to people in my home world. Biology here was different, allowing them to reach levels considered superhuman back on Earth.

I observed our new party member talking a bit agitatedly with Robin, trying to assure her that he was fine and mostly uninjured, having had only a scratch from a badly timed dodge. That obviously did not sit well with her, and the albino immediately pressed him to let her check him better.

To add insult to injury, it seemed that the Villager was gifted with an obscene amount of talent. He seemed to take everything like a fish in water.

Stances, attack patterns, footing… fighting came to him as a second nature. Which was making me reconsider if Robin really was a 'Main Character' in this series of events and Donnel wasn't the real hero of an underdog story.

No wait, he was too talented and well adjusted, he could be a rival at best. People don't insert themselves as exceptional characters in novels.

Anyway, all of that meant that I could not become a good fighter. Competent? Probably, Ardan said as much, but that would take time and constant training. Both things that he could not afford.

"Let's rest for a bit." I said to the two, cutting their conversation short. The two of them immediately stop their back and forth, turning towards me and replying without an ounce of hesitation, "Yes sir!"/"Ok, Hachiman."

I went to check our horses, hoping to find them in the same position we left them after we spotted the Undead and they weren't scared off by the noise of the battle.

Thankfully that was not the case, and the two steeds were simply eating the few grass that was in the area, unscathed by the brief fight.

I sighed in relief at the sight of the horses, allowing myself to relax a bit and ponder on the battle I just had, following my mentor instructions in a very roundabout way.

His textual words were, 'know why ya' didn't die.' Very classy for a mentor type of character, I know. Apparently there was some beauty in thinking on how you survived the day and mulling on how close you were in touching death.

Yeah, sitting back and contemplating how my inexperience in fighting made me hesitate and risk my life for a prolonged period of time, on how monologuing in the heat of the battle would have killed me if it wasn't for the support of my companion was just the perfect way to continue my-

"Sir? 's everythin' alright?", the childlike voice of the Villager called me, much to my surprise. I breathed heavily, realizing now that my arms was shaking uncontrollably, and slowly sheathed my weapon.

I did not have the time to hesitate more and I turned towards him, scolding my features to recreate the blander features that characterized me.

"Yes Donnel." I replied in a lower tone of voice than I wanted. I internally cringed at the almost defeated tone that got out of me, but I decided to press on, "Just checking the horses. Robin finished nagging you?" I asked back in a higher voice, trying to deflect the situation.

Donnel blinked and gazed over me for a moment, before nodding, "Yep. I mean, Lady Robin didn't really nag me, she's just…", he stopped for a moment thinking over his words to find a way to put it in nice terms.

Unfortunately for me, he didn't have the time to finish. "I do not nag, Hachiman!", the Tactician pouted, grimacing at my words. I rolled my eyes at her interjection and let myself fall on the ground, completely relaxing and ignoring her protests.

"If you say so." I commented, not bothering with hiding my disbelief at her words. At my nonchalant answer her pout grew, and thus decided to ignore me. She decided to approach our steeds to reach for the remaining supply to have a quick lunch. Donnel awkwardly watched the two of us, shifting his gaze between the albino and me, before deciding to not intervene in this little argument, following my lead in sitting down and resting a bit, his spear now at his side on the ground.

The two of us remained in silence, waiting for Robin to give us our food, with Donnel watching me and Robin in clear unease, trying to come up with something to fill the void of the group.

He was clearly unused to this kind of situation. Donnel was an incredibly active person. Being a farmer, I supposed that he had a lot to do and never had the time to properly be alone. If he wasn't in the farm with his parents, he was running around in the village to do commissions for his mother or helping his father in hunting.

Rest came only at night or when he was exhausted, unable to process the calm and tranquillity that came with it. It must be tough, the life of a farmer, especially in this kind of world where magic was restricted to a few people and technology practically nonexistent.

I observed him squirming in his seat, trying to come up with a topic of conversation to talk with me. He actually started to say something various times, only to stop himself with what I recognized as fear before wrecking his brain to come up with something else.

It was in equal parts amusing and irritating to watch. Because this would eventually lead to an argument that is extremely dumb that I just could not ignore to not be an ass to him.

"Just enjoy it." I said to him, making the farmer blink in surprise at my prompt. He made to reply, but I continued to explain, "The silence. Sometimes, there is no need to talk. Just be with yourself and sort your thoughts." I said to him.

I almost visibly cringed when his eyes brightened in pure wonder at my words. The young boy proceeded to dutifully follow my words, fully lying on the ground and starting to watch the sky in contemplation.

That was something that I noticed in the two weeks that I spent with him, between the training and the travelling; Donnel obeyed everything one of us said. And not in the 'fine, you are right' kind of way. No, he hung onto our words with surprising enthusiasm, as if every word we said was wisdom that only he has access to.

The kid somehow, in some way, has come to greatly respect us.

That was… not unexpected, to be completely honest. Even when we first met, Donnel wasn't particularly scared of us as people, he was more scared of disrespecting us. It seemed that Centre was a village who has a generally good view of the nobility, because aside from the horrible honorifics, they never displayed any amount of anger or hate.

Then Marth and Robin organized the defenses and helped take down Rodrick's group without a single injury, and everyone was a lot more friendlier with us after that battle. The shitty honorifics were still there, but the distance was lessened.

That applied to everyone, Donnel included. Therefore, I could see why he could see Robin or Marth as some sort of mentor figure.

What I did not understand was why he gave me the same treatment. I am not stupid enough to not see my role in helping the village in that situation, and I could recognize the gratitude received by the village, while misplaced, was understandable.

However, Donnel knew me better, in a sense; we trained together, practically spent a week as each others partner in sparring. I would believe he would be over that kind of worship, after he beat the crap out of me twenty three times consecutively in sparring.

Instead, seeing the type of reaction that my words had on him led me to believe that he was clearly not over it, to my surprise and dismay.

Robin reached us with the ration bag in her hands, sitting beside us and taking out our food supply, some dried meat given to us at the last village we visited yesterday and, strangely, some modern looking bread.

I chalked up everything as fantasy logic and let the matter go.

Without a word, I started to eat, observing absently how my two companions more ferociously wolfed down their part. It was not disgusting to look at, simply strange how enthusiastic they were in their eating habit.

Some part of me worried that this kind of eating could not possibly be healthy for them though. "Eat slowly." I sighed, much to the duo's confusion at my input. The two blinked, processing the short statement. Robin did not reply, giving me an half glare, probably still angry at the previous teasing, and proceeded to eat her meal in a more ordered manner, refusing to talk with me.

I rolled my eyes at her, but focused on how the farmer reacted at my light chide. Turns out, the Villager's face was red, and hastily cleaning himself with the handles of his blue shirt, before apologizing profusely for the rudeness and starting to eat again in a more subdued manner.

I simply hummed in acknowledgment and let the matter go, resuming to eat, allowing the silence to fall again.

That did not last long, because Donnel decided to start conversation, unable to handle the quietness of the situation, "So, uh, I reckon that I'm a bitty nervous. Goin' in Plegia is…" he started to say, pausing for a moment.

"Strange?" Robin offered, interrupting her meal to help the younger boy. Donnel simply nodded in affirmation and nervously adjusted his pot.

"Yeah…", he said hesitantly, looking timidly at the tactician.

Robin shrugged, uncaring of the clear fear that the boy had when talking about what was probably her reign of origin. "Maybe it is not so bad." She simply replied, continuing to eat.

Something about the way she said it was strange, as if she too had little hope in the fact. I could understand why she felt like that: everything we heard about Plegia was… just plain bad, almost cartoonish so. Everything about them was bad news for the Ylissean side.

Most of their problems centered around two major accuses: the so-called Mad King and the Grimleal, who, judging from the information gathered, were the majority of the Plegian population.

And seeing how the Grimleal had their entire religion focused on a God who stood against anything the Ylissean Goddess stood for and actively encouraged the hate against the Ylissean royal lineage… I could understand why the general population would think that.

Nevertheless… "I would not be surprised if that was the case." I started to explain to the two, catching their attention. Donnel immediately forgetting to finish his lunch and staring intently at me in concentration, much to my dismay and uneasiness.

I closed my eyes, let out a sigh to mask the discomfort, and continued to talk; "From my understanding, Ylisse and Plegia have strained relationships from the last war, a war who wasn't properly concluded with a clear victory. With no resolution and resentment, bad blood is bound to happen. The veterans and the people who lost family in the war would be unsatisfied and demonize the culprit, Plegia, and thus exaggerating the tales." I told them.

"…demonizin'?" Donnel asked, hesitating a bit in embarrassment. I grunted in affirmation, wondering if their culture has something that resembled the concept of demons here. "Making them soulless, monsters. Inhuman." I tried to explain.

Donnel took a moment to grasp the idea, but he hesitantly nodded, scratching his head. "Golly, that is… I reckon, they don't sacrifice people?" He asked curiously.

I shrugged. Honestly, I sincerely doubt that. Back home, human sacrifice was a thing of the past, but here? Maybe.

"If they do, only the few extremist of them. The fanatics, probably." I simply dismissed the idea, refusing to consider the possibility for more than it was necessary. Because if what it is said is even a bit true…

I grimaced and resisted the urge to retch what I had just eaten, the mere idea uncomfortable to me. I quickly continued to talk, distracting myself from that particular line of thought.

"Think of it like this. The Exalt line is chosen by… Naga, right?" I said, making the young boy nodded in agreement. "So it is not wrong to say they carry the will of Naga." I continued, prompting another nod from the farmer. This time thought, it was much more slower and hesitant, the boy catching where I was going.

"Ah… I reckon I knew what yer're sayin' sir." Donnel admitted nervously, nervously adjusting the pot on his head. "Pa' told me 'nough stories…" he added, twitching uneasily at the admission.

I exhaled in slight exhaustion at his reaction, understanding his unease at the words. Despite all his talent, Donnel was no different than any other child of his age in this world. Ignorant, strangely simple, and probably indoctrinated by his society.

Thinking about the Exalt line as something fallible, even comparable at a Grimleal? I would not be surprised if it was some form of treason or blasphemy.

I decided to change the subject, "But that is not why we are there." I said, making the youth nod in determination.

"Yes. We're here to help Lady Robin. She's got a Grimleal coat, maybe they knew somethin' 'bout her." He repeated what I said to him last week. "Don't worry Lady Robin! I'm sure we're gonna find somethin' here!" Donnel exclaimed like the hopeful naïve student type of character that he was, predictably prompting a smile from the older girl.

I blinked, wondering if that counted as a small flag to Robin's route. Wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Stay strong Donnel! I'm sure you will start your harem soon enough.

Wait, would that mean that I will be stuck in it as comedic relief?

"Thank you Donny. You are so sweet." She commented, sneakily taking out his pot and ruffling his hairs, much to the boy's embarrassment.

Ah, the big sister archetype. That is a tough one. Truly, you have to stay strong to complete this kind of route. Good luck, young padawan. I will not be there for you.

* * *

"Look Robin, I am sorry, but I can't help you more. I don't remember anything else." I explained, exasperated under the curious gaze of the farmer who was listening to our exchange with open curiosity and rapt attention, despite this being the tenth time the two of us had this kind of exchange.

Robin grumbled and crossed her arms under her breasts, involuntary accentuating them. I made sure to focus on her eyes instead. "I know, but I am so close!", she answered back in frustration, raising one of her hands, static slightly covering it.

Immediately, from her coat a hunting knife flew in front of her, stopping right at the height of her hand. But just as the two-second mark passed, the knife started to fall down, the force containing the knife quickly stopped working.

Robin huffed and expertly caught the falling knife, bringing it back in her coat. "I can create the elec-electromagne… electromagnetic?" She questioned, making me nod in affirmation, rolling my eyes at the explanation.

"The electromagnetic field with minimal energy, but I can't maintain it! Why?" she questioned almost in a whine, and I really wanted to answer back in a very rude manner at her.

Because this was the fifth time she asked that in the last two days.

"Robin, I already told you that I can't help you. I already told you all that I remember." I repeated again, much to her growing frustration.

"Then explain it again! Maybe you will remember something new!", she replied, taking my arm and shaking it slightly.

I openly groaned at her behavior, making her pout at the clear disinterest that her request was met with. "We could control metal Hachiman! Do you know what kind of advantage that would be against… everyone! Bandits, Undead, Knights, Pegasi Knights, and Wyvern Riders! Only the mages would be a problem!", she stressed, prompting me a grumble.

"Yes." I droned as emotionless I could master in the situation. I doubt that I succeeded, judging by the annoyed look I received back. "I know Robin. That is why I came up with the plan in the first place." I said sarcastically.

I then sighed in exhaustion and took a moment to recollect myself, zoning out the weak complaints of the girl. Indeed, I knew how broken electromagnetic control would be in this kind of medieval fantasy setting. A magnetic user would practically nullify the threat of half the enemies of this world, if not more of them.

That is why I wanted to help her. Disallowing ourselves this kind of vantage with our few numbers? That would be incredibly stupid of me. And for that reason I decided, despite my earlier complaints, to repeat the same things I explained to her in the past few weeks.

The definition of the electromagnetic field, what a field was and how it generally behaved itself, this kind of thing. Evidently it was not enough though. I knew I did not add anything new, and the phrasing wasn't that different, and Robin could not control the field for more than two seconds, before fading.

It wasn't a problem of feeding the spell, from the little I understood of how spellcraft worked. She constantly fed the spell with mana, but the result was the same. Two seconds of control and then the field faded, mana or no mana.

And honestly, my… irritation and, I had to admit, anger, didn't come from the necessity of repeating myself to her. It was that if the spell didn't work, then the physics of this world was different, which I doubted because if that was the case this idea would not have been possible in the first place, or more likely, I explained something wrong or I missed something important to help her complete the spell.

Which would mean that my poor understanding of the scientific field would hinder our chances, which wasn't a small problem, especially with something this big!

Damn it, I can't believe I am even thinking this, but I wish I followed Yukinoshita's advice and focus more on my studies instead of reading trashy novels.

Or better yet, I wish I hadn't had to read Zaimokuza's trashy attempt to writing. I knew it, no matter how I sliced it, this is all your fault you fat bastard!

"Ugh. Ok, so, what about this…" she murmured after the brief explanation, tapping with her other hand her Thunder tome.

Once again, static covered her left hand, even if this time it was more intense than before, and, as expected, the same knife flew out in front of her hand, if a bit faster than the last attempt.

Unfortunately, just before she could reach for it, the knife started slowly falling towards the ground, as if restrained by something, probably the magnetic field.

Robin sighed in defeat and stored it back in one of her pockets. "More starting power doesn't work…" she muttered in slight irritation.

"I'm sure yer'll get it!" Donnel encouraged smiling widely, trying to cheer her up.

I hummed and nodded in confirmation, finding myself agreeing with his positivity. If it was someone else, I would have been more skeptical, if not derisive at their effort, but I genuinely think she had a possibility in this.

"He is right, you know?" I confirmed with a grumble. "You reproduced a phenomenon that you didn't know in two weeks and alone." That was amazing, I didn't fully say.

But it was. In less than half a month, understanding the potential of the idea I had against Rodrick's bandits, she created a shell that controlled, no, created, a magnetic field that she could use at her advantage with a precision seen only in popular media.

After all, the seemingly simple act of making a knife come to her hand such a controlled speed and movement was far above what an amateur could do. A simple magnetic field could simply repel or attract, of that I was sure.

And she came up with a spell more similar to telekinesis which had a low cost in mana than the average thunder spell in two weeks.

That she had the gall to complain honestly slightly irritated me, to be honest. And that was not because I could still not cast a decent spell to save my life despite, or probably because of, Robin's lessons.

She grinned, pleased at my words and replied, "It was… not simple, but not that difficult. It is thanks to your explanation. Once you gave me the basics, with a bit of trial and error I started having results." She said humbly, making me roll my eyes unseen by the other two.

"I am sorry that I could not help you two." She added sadly after a moment of silence, looking towards the horizon, where were visible the firsts structures of a village, Uror, if we followed the directions right.

"It's fine Lady Robin!" Donnel hastily reassured her, while I, on the other hand, said "Your amnesia is in the way. There is nothing that we can do. Hopefully, we can ask for some tips from local mages. There are a lot of them here, right?"

Indeed, the problem that I did not take into consideration when I asked Robin to teach me magic was her condition. As an amnesiac, she didn't properly remember how she casted a spell, or to be precise, she can't explain to me the simple bare basics.

It was not that I could not use it, thankfully. The three of us had various lessons while in Centre and on the way here and, as it turned out, both Donnel and, more importantly, me, could use magic.

Well, use was a strong word. Up until now, I could feel the mana, as I dubbed it, and sort of move it… I think? It felt like I moved it, but it is difficult to say for certain when you can't actually do anything with it.

Fact was, I was reasonably sure I could magic something with proper instruction. Which at the moment, I sorely lacked, with Robin relying on instincts

and Donnel being as novice as myself in the field of magic.

"Yes…" the girl answered back, her voice still low and unaffected by Donnel or mine's encouragement. Donnel made to say something more to try to cheer her up again, but he stopped, probably unable to think of anything to say to help.

He looked at me for help, and I shrugged, letting the matter go. She was clearly affected by her inability to help. I did not have much experience in this kind of situation, even if it isn't the first time I am in front of someone in this state.

Both Yuigahama and Komachi were the more moody people I knew that I cared about, and with Yuigahama being as clumsy as she generally is and Komachi being… Komachi, it wasn't unusual for them to feel down sometimes.

I had seen enough times of Yukinoshita, and sometimes my parents, trying to cheer them up and fail to know that to confront the issue dead on was an exercise in futility, their words generally being empty to them, no matter how well sound or reasoned their encouragement was.

There was only a course of action that I knew was effective with them; distract them until they got their mind out of the gutter.

"We're almost at the village." I commented, catching the attention of the two, who looked towards the now more close entrance of the village.

Compared to Centre's, this village's fortifications were marginally better. There were not simple fences, but something bigger and sturdier, but still nothing that could resemble a fort. They were in wood, maybe exported or maybe taken from the neighboring forest, which was technically Ylissean territory and if so, probably illegal.

"Yes!" Donnel immediately replied, taking my cue on the change of subject. Robin hummed in acknowledgment and nodded, glancing at me to see what I was going to say.

"What will we do?" I asked them, making Robin blink in confusion and Donnel looking at me in the same fashion.

I visibly sighed, hearing their silence, and said again, this time clarifying, "Once we arrive at Uror, what will we do? As of now, we have various objectives: first, find information for a sort of holy city, probably where their pontiff resides." I explained, making Robin mumble in thought and continue the list.

"Yes, you are right. Let's not forget that we need a tavern that can let us sleep in for… actually, how much time do we need to stay this time?" She wondered aloud, glancing at the two of us for an opinion.

Donnel shrugged, "I reckon it doesn't matter to me." He admitted easily, adjusting his pot, "I'll need a day to ask aroun'. Maybe they knew somethin' about Pa's stone." The farmer said.

Seeing the Villager's indifference, Robin turned to me, waiting for my answer. I probably grimaced at the sudden attention, but in the end, said, "For now we should buy for a night. It depends on what we find." Or not find.

"Will you ask for the Gate here, Hachiman?" Robin suddenly asked, catching my attention, prompting Donnel's immediate interest.

"… Depends." I simply replied, without explaining any further. The two simply accepted the non-answer, letting what they knew was a delicate matter rest.

"Should we really ask for some mage for help, Hachiman?" Robin asked after a minute of silence. I meditated on the possibility for a bit, glancing between the two of them, who were dutifully waiting for my answer, which I knew would decide how our stay will proceed by now.

It was… unnerving. Being held as the leader of this group. And the problem was that I could not entirely blame them, on a logical standpoint, with Robin being in her condition and Donnel being just a kid. It did not mean I had to like it, though.

Admittedly, it was a new experience for me. People never saw me as leader material, I never saw me as leader material, especially with people like Yukinoshita and Hayama in the school that gathered a lot of attention with their charisma, if in different ways, admittedly that damn psychopath more than Yukinoshita.

"We will try. We are not sure if there even is a mage here." I said, looking away from the two. Robin and Donnel gave their assent, their voices overlapping, but I did not pay much attention at them, now that the entrance was close to us.

It was hard to admit, but I was slightly worried and scared of how the conversation between the village people and we would go. While I rationally knew that what the various Ylissian villages said were exaggerations and product of the recent war (with an outlandish claim of Plegians eating their own children. That was when I abandoned any hope to have some decent information on Plegia.), their various stories made, unfortunately, an impression.

An impression that was immediately shattered when the two guards, once our group approached them, bowed in deference while making a strange gesture, waving one of their hands like a snake before clenching their fists and positioning them in front of their hearts.

"Milady." The older of the two, a male with onyx eyes and long brown hair called what I was sure was Robin with respect. "We were not aware of yer arrive." He said, making the albino blink in surprise.

Recovering from the sudden address and deference, Robin shifted uncomfortably, glancing at the two of us to in search for some guidance in how to deal with the situation.

I hesitated for a fraction of a second before answering for her, "That is expected. We are not here for business." I explained the two, making the two guards focusing their gaze on me, much for the stress of my poor, abused, nerves and mental health.

Maybe noticing my distress, or maybe having decided a course of action after my input, Robin straightened her back, trying to look more secure of what she felt, and continued to say.

"Yes, we are sorry for the trouble. We are here just to rest for a couple of days." She told them. The two nodded and bowed again.

"I see. We feared something was off after your colleague's last visit." The younger man, probably only a couple of years older than me, replied with relief.

The older guards glared at his fellow soldier, mouthing him something that seemed to properly chastise him, before turning again to us and saying.

"Very well. Before you enter, I must ask you to check you. It's proced-" he tried to say, only for Robin to interrupt him and simply smiling, "Of course."

The two almost seemed relieved at the cooperation, and that did not paint a good image of the previous visiting Grimleal if they expected a different reaction from Robin.

Robin opened her coat, showing them her various pockets and a glimpse of their contents, with her various tomes and her sword being the more eye-catching objects of the group.

I noticed the gaze of the younger of the two linger longer on the Tactician's figure, blushing slightly at her form, which the girl did not notice while she was showing the older and decisively more professional of the duo the various objects.

Donnel and I though did notice. The young farmer grimaced at the sight and made to call him out, but I stopped him with a gesture and coughed loudly, catching the attention of the three.

Looking at the younger guard, I took out my lance and extended it to him, confusing him for a moment. The realization comes after a mere second, and the boy proceeded to check my weapon, before starting to pat me for any kind of hidden object.

That is good, young knight; it is dutiful of you being so quick to catch on your job. You are lucky that, as a fellow male with raging hormones, I understand where your not so pure thoughts came from, just be grateful I am no woman that can give you the might of the female punishment.

"Don't do it again." I said simply at him while he was close to me. Robin and the older guard did not notice, but Donnel and I could see the young man pale a bit at the warning. He quickly nodded in agreement, apologizing with a murmur before quickly stepping back.

Donnel looked particularly smug and satisfied at the reaction, while I, on the other hand, was slightly confused at the fear shown. I wasn't particularly angry or threatening with those words, so I could not understand the extreme reaction.

The older man finished his check with Robin and turned to the young farmer, who simply showed him his lance. Then the man asked him to show him the pot.

Donnel hesitated for a moment at the request, clearly unwilling to do that in front of him. Donnel looked towards me and, when our gaze crossed, I could only give him a nod, unsure of why he was so scared of doing that.

Donnel breathed out and slowly took his trusted pot from his head, showing him his head and full hairs and what was inside the pot which as, predictably, nothing at all.

"Ok." The guard said after a glance, and we observed in puzzlement how the black-haired farmer hastily placed the pot back on his head, expiring in relief.

Their confusion was palpable, and I could understand that, feeling much the same as them.

I know, guards, the kid's behaviour is strange, but at least it is something different from staring at the horizon all day long. I am sure he is not the first person with his oddities. God forbid I didn't met enough weirdoes in my weeks here.

"Before you enter, I have to ask you to not use your tomes in the middle of the village; if something happens we have guards patrolling at every hour of the day. Damage at our structure will be added to the Church bill." The man explained, clearly rehashing the speech from the extremely neutral and robotic tone he had.

"Of course." Robin confirmed without hesitation, to the twos relief.

So, we could use our weapons here without trouble, if something happened. The tomes were prohibited probably because, from what I could see, the houses and various buildings were made of woods and/or straws, with only one house I could see from there that was made of some stone.

"Then I wish you a pleasant stay, Milady, Sir." The two chorused, before repeating the previous gesture to our only female and bowing at her.

Robin nodded and waved back amicably, and the three of us walked inside without any other problem. Once having left the guards, Donnel, forgetting the early distress, walked at my side and said in a whisper, "Good job sir."

I made to reply that it was nothing much, wanting to explain that doing a scene would have been pointless and hypocritical of us, but whispers interrupted my words.

Our presence, it seemed, caught the attention of the various villagers that were passing by. This was not strange. Villages, by definition, were extremely little and few populated, especially compared to the various city back home. Hell, even a full city like Ylisstol was nothing more than a couple of neighborhoods compared to an average city back on my homeworld.

In that light, everyone knew everyone in the villages here, and new faces stuck like sore thumbs, or like a Zaimokuza in the middle of a rant during P.E. class. Which was a lot.

Therefore, the attention and the whispers were nothing new and expected. What was new and unexpected however was the various reactions of the people. Few of them replied the same, religious gesture that the guards made us before. Others took steps back, leaving us to pass without an itch, while others simply decided to talk at our 'back' if it could be called that.

I glanced at Robin, the center and cause of the little agitation. She was pretending to ignore them, remaining stone face, with only a curious look on her face when she glanced around the village.

Except, after all this time, I could feel the uneasiness from her posture and slight hesitation.

I sighed, and, looking at the little lancer, I positioned him at her side, closing the distance between ourselves slightly more than usual.

Donnel, smart kid that he was, caught on the situation and imitated me, closing on her other side. That was everything Robin needed to relax.

Our movement wasn't as subtle as I expected, because just after we finished this little maneuver, the people suddenly started to divert their gazes and talked in a more inconspicuous manner. It was a bit embarrassing being read so easily, but at least the villagers had the common education to know how impolite they were with their talking at our back.

"Hachiman." The Tactician softly called, "Why did we lie to the guards?" She asked without looking at me, still focusing on taking her surroundings.

I glanced at the two at my sides, both of them watching the village in curiosity, but I could tell that they were just as curious to find my motive of that move.

"They seem prone to help out Grimleals. We could have been exchanged as Ylissean and, seeing how Plegians are seen in Ylisse, I believed that it would be better to let them misunderstand our origins." I lied seamlessly and without a hint of embarrassment despite the truth of the matter.

Which was that I panicked. I was scared of two heavy armoured guards which could have attacked us if they found us out as Ylissean, sue me.

The two of them had different reactions at the statement: I could practically feel the younger farmer's eyes shining in what I feared was deep admiration, muttering an, "Of course…" of understanding and engraving my words in his mind and heart, much to my cringe and guilt.

Robin, strangely, took her time to show her understanding, glancing at me with a neutral expression, as if taking my words and analyzing them, doubting them. Was she… was she starting to read me?

Impossible! My 84th skill, Poker Face, would nullify every attempt to see through my words! Only people with high resistance to my skills like Komachi, Yukinoshita, and Yuigahama could see through them!

"I… see. Yes." She muttered hesitantly, slowly turning her gaze back on the village, much to my inner relief. I was glad that Plegia was prevalently a desert country because while it wasn't that bad in this zone, the heat was high enough that the bead of sweat that was falling on my cheeks was purely from the heat and not from the fear of being busted. No sir. All heat.

Thankfully (for me), Robin did not have more time to ponder on my words and possibly dismantle my Poker Face with her scarily high level of intelligence, because that was when the people stopped gossiping about us, their curiosity overriding their caution, and decided to come and talk to us.

It was principally a group of five, three women and two men, that approached us, with one woman, a fairly young, black-haired and well dressed for the village stepping closer to us as the chosen representative of the group/village.

"Greetings, Milady." She welcomed us with what could only assume was the religious hail of the Grimleals, before bowing elegantly at the three of us.

"It is an honor to have you at our humble village, especially after your fellow priestess recently graced us with her presence." She said with a perfectly polite smile, an expression that I was well acquainted with since before my coming to this world.

That smile was practiced, used, and rehashed for everybody or everything related to a certain topic. That did not mean anything necessarily bad for us.

It could be that she simply did not care for the Fell Faith, but she had to put a façade of respect for them. Or, worst-case scenario, she could be adverse at the Faith and did not want anything to do with us.

Judging by the information gathered from Ylisse, if they could to be trusted, I was reasonably sure it was the first case. She probably was a non-practicing follower of the Cult of Grima, and talking with a supposed Priestess needed a decorum that she did not care to follow in normal circumstances.

"Hello." Robin replied simply, smiling kindly at the group while taking the lead of the conversation for us. "My name is Robin, and those two are my companions, Hachiman and Donnel. As we already explained at the gates, we are not here for official business. Our group is currently travelling around the continent, and we simply want a place to rest and restock our supplies. Could you perhaps point us to a merchant and a cheap inn for us?" she asked as politely as the woman, who took a moment to think about her request.

"Generally, we have everything needed in the public market, that you will find if you follow that street." She explained, pointing her hand towards a street at her right, beside one of the few houses made of stone.

"Luckily, you may even find an Anna in those days. She tends to set a tent at the center of the market plaza." She added, and Robin nodded, her eyes sparkling in recognition at the name. "I see. It will be good to see her again." She said, turning towards us.

Donnel promptly nodded, smiling brightly at her, while I simply gave a curt hum of affirmation, wondering on the peculiar wording that, once again, the people used to talk about the red-haired merchant. 'An' Anna, as if there were more of them.

It wasn't the first time I heard her referred like that. In the various villages, when her name popped up, the people used this mannerism to refer to that greedy woman. I simply sum it up to another strange pronunciation of those villagers.

However, for a more erudite woman to do the same error? Strange. Maybe Anna was the name of the family company she worked for?

Possible.

"For resting, we have an inn in the village, but I do not know if your group could afford the price, depending on how much you have on you. It is not costly but is not cheap either." The woman added, much to my slight irritation.

Robin furrowed her eyebrows in thought, glancing back at me to probably ask my opinion on the matter. I mimicked her expression, mentally checking how much gold we had up until now. Honestly, the problem wasn't the money; we had more than enough.

The problem was how to ration it in all our travels because we had no sure means of earning it. With all of that in consideration… "We will go checking. Thanks." I answered for the three of us.

Depending on the cost of the rooms, we could even share one room together, if we judged it too expensive. The group seemed surprised at my intervention, focusing for a couple of seconds their gazes on me without speaking a word.

Unsure if I had done something wrong, I activated my Poker Face Skill and simply stared them back without flinching, waiting for them to say something. I saw them shifting uncomfortably while I stared at them, looking nervous all of sudden.

I grimaced, unsure of why they suddenly seemed intimidated by me.

Robin smiled at the group, "Do not worry. Despite what his eyes seem to promise, Hachiman will not do anything to you." She said, catching their attention back to her. The black-haired woman looked between the two of us, the previous smile now a lot more hesitant, before simply saying, "If Milady Robin said so."

I slowly blinked, rationalizing the exchange that just happened under my nose, and almost growled at the hidden insult that the two girls threw around.

Really? A grown-ass group was intimidated by my eyes? I can understand the children, even teenagers, but adults? That was a new low, and this time, it is not for me.

So while I kept any kind of aggressive sounds from exiting my mouth, I visibly rolled my eyes at the exchange, giving Robin the stink eye, conveying my displeasure at her words, even if apparently they hold the truth. Especially if they hold the truth!

On her part, Robin simply smiled sheepishly at my discontent while Donnel immediately stepped in to change the subject, thankfully, "Yeah! Sir Hachiman's scary, but he's really gentle and smart and clever and…"

… or not. Abort, Donnel, abort!

"It's fine Donnel." I hastily stopped him from making me seem more ridiculous than I already was in the eyes of those people. Donnel dutifully stopped and took a step back, looking at the Plegian group… not quite glaring, but he looked mildly offended by the statement.

"I apologize." One of the two men, a brown-haired middle-aged warrior, judging by his defined muscles, said hesitantly with a slight bow, the others quickly following his example in clear embarrassment.

"… it is fine." I settled on saying, dismissing their worries with a shrug. "I have a question though." I added, using the opportunity to insert myself in the conversation.

At that point, the same woman that represented the group took the floor, "We will help as we can." She said. She was partially apologetic, but I could feel that she was in some way defensive with us, as we would ask something outrageous or impossible from them.

That… did not paint a good picture to us.

"I was wondering if you have mages in the village at the moment and if you can point me out to the most knowledgeable person around." I explained curtly.

The woman answered by… making a weird face. No, the entire group, as if struck by the same ingrained unconditional reflex, made the same expression in sync. It was a mix between exasperation, resignation and tiredness, and I heard a couple of them even groan at the mere citation of such a figure.

It were scenes like those that made me confirm that yes, this world seemed to rule on some weird anime/novel logic.

Whatever the case, this reaction meant that, whoever the person was, was incredibly quirky and annoying, and would probably be an important character for the following series of events regarding that Undead business.

The woman stopped the group from their collective suffering with a loud sigh, and slowly started to answer me, "We have such a figure here, yes." She said almost pained, stopping for a moment to scratch her head in exasperation before continuing her explanation "He has set house with his wife… almost a decade ago actually… can't believe he remained here for so much time." She murmured.

"He is a very powerful and knowledgeable mage, so if you ask him or his wife, they should know something. They live at the other side of the village. Just follow the major road to the north after the market plaza." She said tiredly.

I nodded and glanced at my two companions. Robin looked slightly worried at their reaction at the mere mention of this man, looking at me as for checking my resolve to met him, while Donnel seemed merely curious at the odd behaviour.

"Thank you for the information." I simply replied, not showing any emotion at their sudden shift of tone and simply took a step back. "I have nothing else to ask. Robin?" I said to her, making the albino widen her eyes.

"Yes. Donnel, you want to ask something?" she immediately asked the younger member of our group, who shrugged and replied, "Na, Lady Robin. 'S fine."

Robin smiled reassuringly at him at his answer, nodding her confirmation. With that answer, she replied to the group, "Then thank you for the information. We will take our leave and go on our way to the market. I wish you a good day." She said, waving amicably at the group.

The Plegians nodded and gave various goodbyes to us, repeating the Fell Sign to her and bowing respectfully.

With those formalities executed, our group split from them, following the earlier indications of the polite woman, and walked towards the plaza previously mentioned.

Once the group was out of reach, Robin immediately talked to my "Hachiman, I am so sorry about the comment on your eyes! I don't know what I was thinking, and I did not mean to off-"

I raised my hand to stop her from making excuses. I glanced around, noticing how the people were still looking at Robin with a wide arrange of emotions, from respect to intimidation, with some of them saluting her with the Fell Sign, but nobody was brave or curious enough to approach us for ask questions or information.

"It is fine." I replied with a shrug, turning my gaze back to her. "I understand that you were trying to make them relax." I added, watching Robin and Donnel shift uncomfortably at my stare, still feeling guilty.

"Sir, yer eyes're bitty scary, but I know they're smart!" Donnel tried to comfort me, much to my confusion. I raised an eyebrow at the attempt, a small smile creeping out despite my best efforts. "Smart?" I finally asked after a bit of silence on my part.

To my surprise, Donnel did not blush in embarrassment or tried to correct his statement. Instead he nodded enthusiastically and used it as his cue to explain, "Yeah! Yer always watchin' deeply everythin'! Like yer' seein' inside everythin' and everyone! Smart!" he concluded proudly.

I blinked, and I certainly did not blush at the actually positive compliment that the boy gave to me, simply shrugging at his words. But Robin did not let the matter drop and, following the pot wearing farmer's lead, she added lowly, "He is right, you know. Your eyes are very deep." She said. She stopped for a moment, murmuring something that I could not catch.

"What?" I asked for clarification. Robin's cheeks reddened in embarrassment at her misstep. "Never mind. Just know that you don't need to be ashamed of your eyes, ok?" she simply said, immediately followed by Donnel's enthusiastic, "Yeah!"

I did not have the time to reply, because that was when we entered the market. So instead of talking, I used the more rowdy environment to hide my embarrassment at the two sincere praises, looking away from the two and feigning to search for Anna, hiding my embarrassed blush from the two.

And I had no illusion in thinking that the two were nothing but honest in their praises. After all, the people that I met in this world were utterly incapable of subtlety up until now. Plus, I knew Robin for almost a month now, always attached at each other's hip. I was sure I was able to read her in case she was lying, as she seems to be able to do with me.

Donnel, on the other hand, couldn't lie to save his pot, at least not to me. He was too earnest and (still strangely) respectful of me to be nothing more than honest and open.

"Stay close." I recommended the two, making Donnel close more on Robin and her doing the same to me, making our shoulders touch so we could not lose each other in the small crowd.

We walked like this for what I thought was a full minute, before Donnel interrupted it and said with a higher voice than normal, trying to override the crowd's noises. "I think I see 'em. Over there!" the Villager called us, pointing towards the center of the plaza, were a group of stalls.

And sure enough, a distinctive mop of red hair was visible from here, with a small number of people in front of who could possibly be Anna, showing the group her goods.

We went to her, encouraged by the familiar face, and waited for a couple of minutes for the line to move.

When it was our turn, the redheaded merchant smiled brightly at us, her smile practiced but still honest. I could still see the greed in her eyes. It was a lot more subtle than what I saw the last time, but simply knowing it exists made it easier to find.

To her, we were not people; we were customers.

"Hello! Welcome to the Trickster House! How may I serve you!" she greeted us waving excitedly. Robin was the one to start the talking with us.

"Hello Anna. It is nice to meet you again. We did not know you were coming in Plegia too." She said, returning her smile with one of her own.

"Howdy Miss Anna! I have to thank ya' again for the help back home! Yer really saved our beacon!" Donnel greeted too, waving excitedly at the merchant.

I simply nodded at her, glancing back at the line behind us to see how many people were waiting. Just a couple of groups, fortunately, and they did not seem in any hurry, each one of them talking between their selves to pass the time.

How lucky of us.

Anna's smile dropped, looking at us in confusion. She blinked and said, "I am sorry Miss, Mr, I do not remember to have met you… where was it again?"

I grimaced at her answer. She did not remember? That was… strange. You would think that a bandit attack would be memorable enough, but maybe it was common to her. Strange, but not impossible.

"Centre, Miss Anna!" Donnel dutifully answered the girl, making her blink and furrow her eyebrows in concentration. "On an island at the south of Ylisse." Robin added politely, trying to help her jog her memory.

Anna blinked, her mouth opening in an O of recognition before she smiled again at us. This time, it was apologetic.

"Oh yeah! That! My cousin Anna sent us a letter bragging about the event. A group of barrels to defend the town and immediately after that, furniture and some food for the party! Lucky gal!" she exclaimed with a trace of envy that I was too confused to understand properly, lost in her words.

The single words made sense. They were comprehensible. It was the entire phrase that I could not make head nor tail of.

"What?" I asked in bewilderment, echoing my two companions.

Anna blinked and scratched her head, giving us her back and leaning to find something. "You must be new…" she said, searching, "Strangely, my family is made of completely by similar people. Each one of us is called Anna. Don't ask. It's complicated." She explained briefly.

What?

Robin tried to say something, but predictably, she did not have anything to go out of her mouth. Donnel and I were in a similar state.

"I did not think I would have to use this twice in a week. A new record, I guess…" she commented, taking in her hands something large.

Turning towards us, I could see that this Anna had in her hands a big painting, in which was painted us a group of women. A group of extremely similar women. All of them were red-haired, even if the hairstyle was different. They were the exact carbon copy of one another, with the only telling difference being the various ages of the… Annas.

So that was what they meant…

She positioned it in front of us, showing us the full painting, much to our dismay. "This is part of the family. I am this one." Anna said, pointing to a young redhead, almost a child really, towards the center of the painting. "While Anna, which you already met should be… here. I think. This painting is not very good. We are all the same. What a waste of money." She commented, pointing at a slightly older redhead at the bottom left of the painting.

One thing that I noticed was the way she said her… cousin I guess, name. It was slightly accented, the cadence strangely off.

I blinked, mumbling the variation from the way I used to say the name. "So she is Anna… and you are?" I asked, carefully enunciating the merchant's name.

"Anna." The redhead in front of us replied simply. And, as I suspected, the cadence was different from the other name. Not by much honestly, it was almost unnoticeable, but it was there.

I chewed the two pronunciations, trying to get the two right under the watchful eye of my albino companion, who was listening to me attentively, confused.

"Anna and Anna then." I said, more confident in my pronunciation. The head of the Trickster House blinked in surprise before making an impressed sound.

"Oooh, you got our name right! That's rare!" She commented happily, smiling at our group. I grunted and shrugged simply saying, "You make it needlessly complicated."

Anna snickered at the comment, leaning on the bench with a coy smile, "I can't say you aren't right. But it has been like this since before Ylisse. At least five thousand of years, if I recall correctly." She explained.

I nodded, showing my understanding at her. I hope I looked calm at the exchange because I was anything but.

Seriously? A case of Inexplicable Identical Individuals? Really world, are you playing with that? I know it is funny on the outside, but I am sure as hell it can't be good for the people involved! If a lot of them are the same, how can they be distinct apart? People have an identity crisis for less, you know?

Zaimokuza, you damn idiot, don't try such dangerous tropes in your shitty works! Especially if I am in it!

"That is… fascinating." Robin answered hesitantly, glancing between Anna, me and Donnel, who, turns out, was watching me intensely, eyes sparkling in amazement. "But we need to buy some supplies. What do you have?" she asked, prompting the merchant's smile to widen in excitement.

"Of course! Now, depending on where you want to go and what route, I have some maps, a portion of rations, and tents!" she explained bubbly, starting to gather the goods she mentioned.

Robin took a moment to think about what we needed. "Show me the maps and prepare for two days of rations, if you may." She asked politely. Five seconds later, Anna zapped back in front of us with the items requested, showing us a series of maps that I did not recognize.

"We'll take the maps of the various zone of Plegia." Robin said, glancing at the various charts in front of her. Anna shuffled the charts, dividing some of them and showed a group of five maps, almost similar if I had to be honest, but I did not know enough of geography and orienting to know the difference.

I was learning though.

"What about maps with routes for Ylisse or…" what was the name again? "Regna Ferox?" I asked the girl. She winked at me and replied, "On it, handsome!", making me roll my eyes at the little scene.

"Subtle." I commented sarcastically. "I do not pay for fake compliments." I told her with a wry grin, making the woman laugh. "Just for today, it's a special sale. Compliments free of charge! You should feel honoured…" she replied cheekily. I sighed in exasperation.

"And that will make me more inclined to come back, it's only an added bonus, right?" I asked sarcastically. Anna grinned and sang a "Busted!" while adding a couple of more maps at the previous pile on purchase.

I looked at the maps and then at Robin, who seemed lost in thought while looking at them, probably analyzing them. "Robin?" I asked, making her blink at the sudden call.

"Yes Hachiman?" she replied, looking back at me in confusion. "The maps?"

Robin's lips opened in an O shape, and she looked again at the charts, analyzing them better. "Yes, they are fine. How much are those?" she asked the redhead. The merchant did not even bother to think about what we thought, how much, or any other things. Instead, she immediately replied, "The maps would be 147 Gold, while the rations are 35 Gold!"

She then smiled "But if you are travelling don't forget to buy some weapons! It is dang-"

"We're fine." I stopped her immediately, already seeing how that conversation was going towards. Maybe for any other person, this could have worked fox, but I am a 21st-century boy!

I am attacked by useless commercials that hype up even the most stupid object as something essential since I was able to comprehend words!

Your tactics are nothing to me! Nothing!

Anna pouted at the sudden interruption and huffed in displeasure. "Rude." She commented lightly. There really wasn't any heat behind it thought.

"Oh, uh… Miss Anna?" the young voice of our farmer called out, catching our attention. "Yes?" Anna asked sweetly at the boy, who fidgeted in nervousness at the sudden attention.

"Do ya' have some wires?" he asked. I blinked at the strange request, watching our youngest member in curiosity. Robin simply nodded, clearly understanding what his idea was.

"Why yes, I have cutie. What is it for?" Anna asked in curiosity while checking in the back for the item. Donnel immediately replied, "Huntin' miss. Do ya' even have…" and with that, Donnel started to list a series of objects, from various traps, to some common objects and, of course, a shovel.

"Unfortunately, I don't have everything." Anna said seriously with a frown of disappointment on her face. Donnel shook his head but sported a frown of his own. "It's fine. I'll take that."

I eyed warily the shovel, wondering if Donnel could already pull the same stunt as his father with that seemingly harmless thing. I did not think he could, he did not seem strong or confident enough to pull it off, but that did not mean I was going to underestimate the power of the shovel in this world.

Scratch that, I am not going to underestimate the power of even a chair here.

"All of his should be… 175 G." Anna said in the end, this time taking a moment to calculate what we need to give. Donnel nodded in affirmation and took out his worn-out purse, with all the Gold his family gave to him for his travel.

"We'll pay half of it." I suddenly said, surprising the black-haired villager. "Sir, ya' don't have to-" Donnel immediately protested, but I glanced at Robin, who simply nodded and added more Gold in the mix.

Anna simply shrugged and took the coin, uncaring of the origins of her payment. "You will hunt for us too. It is only fair that we pay a part of it." I explained to Donnel with a neutral tone.

"But-" he tried to protest again, only for me to silence him with a loud sigh. "Donnel, I understand you want to help. But just pay for now." I said.

Donnel seemed still hesitant to do it, but in the end, he yielded and gave Anna his share of the money. Anna smiled happily at the sound of the Gold falling on the bench, and quickly snatched them in her hands.

"Well then, thank you for your patronage! I hope to see you again at the Trickster House, handsome!" she called almost singing, looking greedily at the money.

I let out another sigh of exasperation, but simply nodded and turned to leave other the costumers at their affair. Donnel and Robin were more polite than me, giving their goodbye with various degrees of excitement.

I glanced at Donnel, who seemed ready to start a minor argument at what just happened, clearly distressed at my move.

I sighed.

* * *

"Sir, it wasn't necessary for ya' to-" Donnel started to protest when we went out of the market, following the path at the north to find the house of the mage indicated to us.

"It was." I interrupted him. He stopped, waiting for something more. That came from Robin, who interjected by saying, "As Hachiman already said, you were going to hunt for all of us, right?" she asked kindly.

Donnel nodded, and said, "Yes Lady Robin but…" he tried to say, but I interrupted him again.

"Not only for hunting; those would be a good rudimentary defense system when we are going to sleep. Not only that, but if they aren't activated, they are reusable. Donnel, what you bought was a good idea that would have benefited everyone in the group." I explained again, this time a bit more hotly than before.

It was jarring how much pride he was showing in this. Because that's what it was; pride. He did not want to show us that he would not be dead weight in any kind of situation, economically or otherwise. Which I found ridiculous, seeing how he was a better fighter than me and practically offered to do for us any kind of task when we rested.

I knew he meant well, and I believe that I have a good understanding of his character, but…

"Donnel, we don't need you to be our vassals. I never had one and Robin is self-sufficient enough to know that she doesn't need one either." I told him with a grimace. Donnel deflated at the rebuke, looking at his feet in defeat.

"Donnel, do remember why you joined us?" I asked with a sigh, seeing how even if defeated in the argument, he did not seem to have changed his mind on the matter. He was that stubborn, I knew that.

Startled by the sudden shift of topic, the Villager looked up and hesitantly said, "Oh, to find about Pa's stone 'curse." He answered. Then after a moment of silence when I did not reply with anything, he adds, "And earn some money for the village."

"And pray tell, how do you intend to do that?" I asked again, focusing on him. He hesitated. And hesitated more. I grunted. As expected, he had no idea how to do that.

"Have you thought about it Donnel?" Robin gently asked the farmer, making him blush in embarrassment and shook his head in negation.

Looking away, I explained, "Start thinking then. As much as I would love to say it, money does not simply fall from the sky. Especially when you are travelling. If you want to stop doing some odd jobs in the various villages, we will not complain much, but that would not maintain your village. You need money to earn some money. You should not waste too much in the necessity to live out." I explained curtly, looking at the street.

Now that we were away from the center of the life of this village, people were scarcer. The street was not deserted by any means, but the people were far less, like half a dozen that I could see around.

"Hachiman is right Donnel." Robin softly added at the farmer, gently rubbing his back in consolation at his downed expression. "You don't have to spend all your family savings for us. Think about what it is necessary for your village and use that to help them." The Tactician explained.

I did not hear anything from the two for a bit, Robin still waiting for the young farmer's answer. It took a full minute of walking, but in the end, I heard a resigned "Ok." From the young boy.

While outwardly I did not make any sudden movement, in reality, I was very tempted to let out a sigh of relief at his words. The little ploy was a success.

As expected, Donnel was, surprisingly for my world's standard, a selfless and nice person. A boy who wants to help others when he can. The only way for us to cut that mentality to apply to us was to remind him of the 'greater good' so to speak; in this case, the village he wanted to help.

If he really wanted to earn enough money to lift up his village, he needs to start being a bit more selfish. I could easily imagine him being scammed by people or refuse a payment out of generosity and sense of duty.

If he really wanted to help his village, a bit of greed would serve him well. One step at a time though.

"So now we are going to that mage, right Hachiman?" Robin called to me, deciding to change the subject. Her voice was slightly concerned, remembering the various expressions of the Plegians who pointed him out to us.

I nodded, "Yes. They said he was knowledgeable and powerful. He can surely help us with our situation, and maybe, just maybe, he could help us with the Gates or Donnel's stone. Maybe he can even give us a trace for your past. Magic and all that." I explained to the two.

Donnel simply nodded, now a bit more cheerful now that the possibility of someone helping to know the secret of his father's stone.

"Maybe…" she conceded, strangely not captivated at the chance to know about her past. "But the people were… odd about him. Are you sure?"

Yeah. I could understand the feeling. If it wasn't for the fact that I really wanted to go home, I would never dream to go talking with such a controversial, and probably quirky, figure. Except I really wanted to go home, wanted to see my sister and the Service Club, and, on a marginal note, the possibility to shoot fireballs and lightning from my hands was really appalling.

"I don't think he is dangerous, Robin. Just… strange, I guess. The people did not seem scared of him, just exasperated." I explained to her.

Donnel simply nodded while Robin scratched her chin in thought, "I guess… you are right. Maybe I am worrying over nothing…" she admitted sheepishly. My eyes slightly widened at the phrase.

Shit, if she had a strange hunch about that…

"Why? Do you have a bad feeling?" I asked cautiously, stopping in my track to turn to face her fully. Robin blinked in surprise at the sudden change in behavior but shook her head. "Not a bad feeling just… weird, I gue-"

"Stop there, adventurous fools!" A voice squeaked from behind me. I blinked. Robin blinked. Donnel blinked.

The voice was… not threatening in the slightest. First of all, despite the pompous tone, the voice was extremely childlike. Second, the voice was female, making the squeal cuter than threatening or annoying.

I turned around, and at a few steps in front of us, stood proudly a little girl with her hands at her hips and her chest puffed.

The girl was young, a child, really. If I had to take a guess, she wasn't even under her first decade of life. She had short blonde hair and wore a long black tunic with yellow stripes at the sides. Attached to her back, was a short deep blue cape that was flapping 'dramatically'

"Uh, ya' mean us?" Donnel asked the girl, who nodded in determination.

"Yes commoner!" she said, taking steps towards us. "I heard all of your dangerous quests from the depths of yor soul! Your desire to power and kne-knowl-knowledge sent you three lost… persons to search for the incredible power of the ter-tero…", she tried to say, much to my amusement.

"Terror?" I suggest to her, making her blush in embarrassment.

"And I think ya' meant people there…" Donnel added helpfully, making the girl recoil like she was hit by a punch.

"Besides, eavesdropping of people is not polite. You should not do that." Robin added with a light glare, scolding the little girl, who immediately bowed in apologize.

"A-ah I'm sorry I didn't mea- No wait!" She immediately stopped, glaring at us as if offended by our intervention. "You will not confound me with your powerful mind spells! You desire to meet my exsti-esitma…"

"Esteemed?" Robin tried to help her again, a small smile on her lips at her antics. On the other hand, I had a really bad feeling about this.

"… great father, the Terror of Uror, the Darkness of Archanea?" She said, ignoring her question completely. I could not help it. I groaned when she started spouting names. I thought at least that I would have left that behind! Zaimokuza was not here! Why does such a thing even exist in this world?

"Yes?" Donnel answered unsure for all of us, looking at Robin and me to for affirmation. Robin shrugged, and I was too deep into my suffering to give him a proper answer.

That was all the little girl needed. "Then scream to me the true colour of your soul! My name is Ophelia, daughter of the Perfect Arcsage Owain and the Evil Demoness of Plegia Severa!"

I could not help it.

I facepalmed.

God damn it.

**Author Notes:**

**Surprise people. I'm back with a more relaxed chapter. No angst, no battles, no (excessive) drama, just Hachiman, Robin and Donnel chilling in Plegia. Good stuff.**

**Now, for people who don't know the game, no, Ophelia is not an OC. It is actually a FE character, and I stopped here for a dramatic cut. Yeah, I kind of love those.**

**For who is in the know, ei, I told you time travel here will be different. So… surprise. Hope you find it enjoyable.**

**So aside from that, nothing much happens. See you next time with a Chrom chapter…**

Outside the village, sat on the top of a tree, a figure watched with her eyes closed towards the pathetic construct in front of her, feeling the weak presences of the people. Of the couple of hundreds of people, only a tenth was something more than an average citizen was.

And such matter had no concern from her.

No, what caught her interest were the three lights in the settlement, shining beacons in confront of the others.

What was worse, was that not one, but two of them had a trace of divine in them, even if one of the two was incredibly weak, even for human standards. The third one was normal but the raw power was a concern nonetheless.

She opened her eyes, violet orbs assessing the little settlement in the distance.

The vermin grew stronger, and not only that, they reproduced! They gave light to another spawn of the Exalt line!

The woman, a long-haired albino, pondered on the course of action to make. Kill them now or let them be? Even with all the power the two cockroaches amassed, they were still nothing against her when in her full form, still sand grains in the desert compared to my full might.

Simply letting them be and killing them once she was at her best was an acceptable course of action. Yes, she could see it.

Once the two simply heard wind of the possibility of her full revival the two would immediately charge at her in search of vengeance for their fallen kingdom and parents.

She was confident enough to be able to outsmart the group with some false leads and gather enough time to do the ritual and regain her full power and crush them once and for all.

Yes, it was perfect… except for the young spawn. She did not believe for a second that the two would take her with them so she could kill them all. Parenthood, as she saw time and time again, made humans cautious.

Their instinct to protect their future and legacy surpassed every personal desire; they would prefer leaving the child in a secure place from her might, if such a place existed.

And that would leave a vengeful child with the ability to wield Falchion. A single person that could be able to end her reign. Like Manasseh did one thousand years ago.

No, she decided. She should kill the child now if possible, before the parents could hide her.

The woman glided towards the ground, her violet aura flaring to make the downhill possible. She thought about how to approach the problem. The two vermin were powerful now.

Even a horde of Risen would not stop them. Something more was necessary. Something more powerful. Something like her Deadlords.

The woman grimaced at the idea. Yes, it was possible. But how many? She could summon no more than two at the time as she was now. Anymore would drain her too much.

But summoning two would mean she could not summon normal Risen, which normally would not be a problem. Except that the main objective of the mission was to kill the child.

After a bit of thought, the woman smiled. A plan formed, an idea that would shock the worms at their core, giving her the edge to kill one of their spawn.

A summoning circle appeared in front of her, a single female form called from within. Cladded in armour, this particular Risen stood straight in contrast to her inferior counterparts.

The blonde figure bowed, ready to accept her orders.

And all it needed was a single gesture of the woman's hand before the figure promptly started to walk away, all the while a series of circles started to appear all around her, calling at her side a swarm of Risen of the more varied nature.

The small army started to walk away, waiting for the late evening to launch their attack.

And Grima allowed herself to smile.

**...yeah no. Can't have Hachiman have a chapter without a dramatic fight, can I?**

**Now to answer some questions:**

**1) Is Hachiman really ill? If not, what is the problem that Ardan asked of?**

**No, Hachiman is not ill. He only has different biology. Ardan saw that he didn't improve as fast as he, his son, or his soldiers had improved and assumed that he had some problem.**

**2) What's the difference between a FE body and Hachiman's?**

**A human in the FE world doesn't have the limit of ours. Everyone there can get stronger than our athletes with training. It is not as fast as Donnel, who is a prodigy, but they can.**

**3) Does that mean that Hachiman is weaker than average?**

**No. Or better, it depends on who do you take for average. **

**Average soldier: Of course he is weaker. They trained for at least months, if not years, while Hachiman barely a week. Physically, they outclass him.**

**Average villager: He is actually stronger than them. Hachiman is pretty athletic per canon, and the training with Ardan helped in that regard. **

**4) What does all of this mean in game stat?**

**Hachiman, as of now, is of Villager class. Let's say, lv 7. Once he reach lv 10, he can class up.**

**If he chooses a class like Fighter, Archer or Cavalier, he will be resetted on Lv 1 and can Lv up again up until lv 10. Then he will reach the peak of human conditions and stop. **

**He can't even class up again.**

**5) So this story will be Hachiman being a drag for the fighters?**

**Of course not. There is another route of power, and by this chapter, it should be pretty clear what I am talking about.**

**If you have any other questions, don't hesitate. Reviews are appreciated.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Shockingly, Owain is not just an idiot.**

This is a nightmare.

"Welcome to the Divine Lair of the Thousands Miracles! I see my daughter has accompanied you here."

It has to be.

"What do you search for, strangers? Immeasurable power? Unlimited knowledge? Wisdom that rivals the Divine?"

There is no other way to explain why I see a full-fledged adult behaving like–like a…

"Speak up, do not fear our presence! My guiding hand will be the fated help that will show you the truth of the world!"

I am so going to punch him in the face!

"T-thank you, Sir Owain. We are here… in search of knowledge, I guess." Robin thankfully answered the man who was dramatically posing in front of us, before I could actually speak up and do… something.

The man was probably at the threshold of his thirties and had short blonde hair of a lighter colour compared to his daughter. He wore a classic mage robe, with the striking difference of it being primarily yellow with black stripes instead of the classic full black. Like his daughter, he too added a cape on his back, which instead of the dark blue like the young girl's, his, was violet.

His eyes roamed over us, staring a bit at Donnel and Robin in… something, before finally staring directly at me. "I see!" He boomed with an arrogant smile.

"Then, let our true self shine in memory of this legendary meeting!" He said, moving his arm in a dramatic fashion, producing an artificially small wind to make him flutter his cape behind him.

"I am Owain of the Light of Archanea, owner of the Divine Liar of the Thousands Miracles, tamer of the Demonic Lion of Plegia and father of the Chosen One Ophelia!" He announced proudly, much to his daughter's delight, who was cheering at him in glee. She then turned her big emerald eyes on us, her gaze shining in wonder and anticipation.

I did my best to not look at the two orbs. That way could lead only to embarrassment and pain.

"Oh, ok. I am Ro-," the albino tried to introduce herself, but of course, the man decided to interrupt her. "Halt, my friend! I ask you not to simply state your mere presence. Speak your essence, your true self!" He ordered, much to my chagrin.

It seems that I was the first capable of translating the chuuni talk, maybe from my past experience with that damn fatso; however, that comment was the last straw for my restraints.

"No." I immediately answered him. It was short, hard, and on point. Like hell I was going to play along with this farce, and if that abomination of adult behaviour would even try to insist…

Said abomination, mercifully for him, visibly deflated in disappointment, sighing in defeat. His expression did not change much, as he probably wasn't that affected by our refusal, and that showed me that this contradiction of an adult was doing all of this on purpose.

Unforgivable. I wonder how such a man could have procreated.

Maybe this was the dread mid-life crisis at work?

"Wah! Come on, pleaseeee?" Was instead the plea of his child, which was looking at us with teary eyes in a flagrant attempt of guilt-tripping us.

Thankfully, I had the perfect counter for such a technique, honed by years of living with a sly and cheeky little sister that would puppet me in her schemes and order me around like a true mastermind.

I did not look at her.

Admittedly, this technique never worked with my sister. B-but that was only because her imouto-level was over nine thousand against Hachiman-types, not because it was useless.

Unfortunately, I was the only one that had this definitely foolproof defence against such a powerful attack, and I did not account for the presence of my weak-willed companions.

"Ok." The traitorous voice of the female albino conceded pathetically, after gazing in those mind-controling eyes. "G-give us some time to… unlock the light of our true self." She hurriedly said, making me sigh in defeat at the concession.

I did make a point to glare at Robin for this treachery, making her blush in embarrassment and in defeat, as the weakling should.

"Of course." The smug voice of the smug mage smugly said to us, looking at us with such smug that I wanted to smug his face to oblivion, before he looked proudly at his daughter for the mind trick.

The dark creature in question was cheering at him in joy, impatient to hear our shameful introduction.

I quickly wondered if this was some sort of test to allow us to have his help, maybe some sort of lesson that the quirky type of character loved to make a point.

Seeing how the man was simply patting his daughter's head, I decided that no, this Owain was only doing that for his daughter. He was so whipped by the bundle of cuteness.

I regrouped on the other side of the room, reaching my two weak-willed travel companions, who were whispering between themselves.

"How we're gonna do that Lady Robin?" Donnel murmured at her, looking perplexed by the entire situation. "What're they even sayin'?!" He added in clear confusion.

Ah, poor Donnel. His young, pure, mind was defiled by this nonsense and had no understanding of the depth of the human delusions.

Oh, how that was going to change. I will pray for your patience and sanity, my young padawan.

"They want us to introduce ourselves… I think?" She replied with the same low voice, glancing quickly back at the father-daughter duo, who were watching us in various degrees of anticipation.

"Yes." I growled, trying to maintain the same low voice as them despite my irritation. "They just want it to be dramatic. The best way for you two is to exaggerate a past achievement or your personal history." I explained to the two, one of my eyes twitching in outrage despite the words being my own.

The two wisely decided to not comment on it, sensing my emotions on the matter. Instead, the two whispered back in panic, "But we don't have them!", at the same time.

I groaned at the two's answer, repeating to myself that the two were not at fault and did not know how this kind of behaviour worked. Lucky them.

In other words, it fell to me to create something for them that could satisfy the two monsters in human skin, because those two could not be anything else but monsters if they were going to make me fall back on those days.

Damn them. Well damn the man. I can't damn the child. She doesn't know better.

"Ok listen up. If we are going to talk with them for any length of time, you two have to understand how they think and talk. Let's start with you." I said to the young farmer, who immediately nodded with a concentrate expression, ready to absorb this kind of information.

What a waste of a good brain. A real opposite of those two behind me.

"You have various things that we can work with. First off, why you travel. You want to find if the rock your father gave you has some sort secret. This means you have a sacred quest to unlock the mysterious power of your father's legacy, who is a veteran from the previous war, so that is a bonus if you want to add it. Say something about a Ylissean tragedy. Do you follow me now Donnel?"

The farmer looked a bit confused at the explanation and took various moments to process the information given. But in the end, he comprehended and nodded in affirmation.

"Yes. I think I get it. I reckon if I'm talkin' about wantin' to earn money for my home… maybe I'm carryin' the will of the village?" He questioned, looking at me unsure of the answer.

I nodded seriously, patting his back in comfort, "Yes. You are a fast learner Donnel." I said, carefully making sure to keep my sadness out of my voice.

Donnel smiled brightly, happy of his result, and said, "I think I got it." Before waiting for the next part of the explanation.

I see that overflowing talent has its drawback, it seems. I hope one day you will find the strength to forgive me, Donnel.

Outwardly unperturbed, I turned to Robin and said, "In your case, your amnesia is not a drawback, it's a vantage. You are on a pilgrimage to remember your forgotten past and discover your legendary lineage, and you came to him in search of clues after having heard of his powers." I explained, making her cringe at the words.

Ah, at least she understood the situation. I do not know what would be worst; pitiful ignorance of shameful awareness.

"But I don't have a legendary bloodline…", she commented weakly, a trace of desperation in her eyes. Smiling slightly, I put a hand on her shoulder, and delivered the devastating news, "We don't know that."

Robin's expression fell, her eyes widening as if haunted by this new truth, and she weakly nodded in resignation. "W-what about you then Hachiman?" she asked in a pained whisper.

I smiled sadly, and simply explained, "I am on a divine quest to understand the secret of the world, and I came to him to ask help to unlock the true powers of the War God Hachiman, a real god of my homeland, of which I am incidentally the avatar of."

The two gave a last, determined nod, one of which was more determinate of the other. Truly, Donnel was a hero in the making if he could face such a dangerous and self-destructive trial without flinching.

Ardan would be proud of you, son.

Moreover, as a true Hero, Donnel was the first to subject himself to this arduous ordeal.

Taken by such a moving scene, none of us heard the house's door open behind us.

"I'm Donnel, bearer of Center's Will, son of Ardan the Survivor, veteran of the Fell Exalt. I'm travellin' with my Master, Hachiman the Wise, to continue Pa'- I mean, my father's research on a mysterious stone! I came here to ask yer help in my journey|" He proudly proclaimed, somehow having the will to give them a big smile.

My eye twitched at the farmer's speech, and I wondered if he was necessary for him to introduce me as his master. I mean, it did sound epic, which is something the duo was asking for.

The little girl 'ooh'ed' loudly, while the mage had the gall to smile softly at him, replying, "Yours is truly a dangerous and honourable quest, young Donnel. I will do everything in my power to help you."

Donnel's smile widened and he bowed slightly, muttering a brief thank you, before taking some steps back, leaving space for the Tactician to give her introduction.

She hesitated for a moment, before the magician sighed and took some steps forward, her pained expression slowly transforming into something more solemn and almost queenly.

"I bear the name of Robin, the last shard of my forgotten history. I travel these lands in search of my lost bloodline, aided by my fated companion, Hachiman. His infinite wisdom and cutting intelligence has gathered all of us here, asking for your aid in such a difficult chase." She said more plainly but succeeded in instilling dignity in her words, which was baffling from my point of view.

What was even more baffling was the necessity of using my name again when this was supposed to be a introduction. Do not hype me up! This kind of thing tends to create expectations for the listeners!

See, little Ophelia is holding her breath now that it is my turn! What if she is disappointed in what I said? The entire point of this charade is to make her happy!

Of course, my mental gripes were unheard of her, who was now giving a small, regal bow.

The waste of adulthood widened his eyes in surprise at her speech, understanding the distressful situation she told him under the pompous words.

"F-forgotten past? T-that's…" he tried to say, shortly dropping the mask to mumble something, grimacing in frustration, "What a cruel joke the whims of time has subjected us, Lady Robin. Rest assured, your plea of help will be answered." He said, still looking nervous at the news despite the courageous words.

Robin gave the two a small, grateful smile, understanding that the man good intentions despite the mannerism, and she took some steps back, giving me the space I needed to give my presentation.

And here it was, my dreaded turn in this charade. I sighed in malcontent, taking wide steps in front of the group. I wished I had some pockets on my trousers, but it wasn't meant to be…

"From the Secret Land of The Rising Sun, I came to Ylisse to discover the wonders of the world. I come to you, Lord of the Thousands Miracles, to ask your help to unlock the divine power of the War God Hachiman to help me in my sacred quest. As for a name, this time I go by Hikigaya Hachiman."

I said gravely, concluding my speech and focusing my gaze on the two, my eyes involuntary (or not) squeezing in a glare.

The effect was immediate… even if not the one I desired.

The young blonde visibly recoiled, gasping loudly as if in pain. She clenched her hands on her heart and fell onto her knees with a strangled cry, panting heavily, "S-such powerful aura… even if sealed… s-so scary." She muttered dramatically, making me twitch in irritation.

The older blonde-haired person was immediately in front of her, as if shielding his daughter with his body, even if he had his arms crossed in defense, his cape somehow waving behind him despite being inside their house.

"Remain strong, my little chosen! Sir Hachiman, please, restrain your aura… using a gods… i-isn't it a bit too much? Do you not fear the divine retribution of your patron for such a bold declaration!?" He asked, looking at me warily.

I raised an eyebrow at the question, before shrugging uncaringly, to his visible dismay.

"I am here, aren't I?" I answered nonchalantly at him, letting the glare go at the sudden change of attitude. Ophelia stopped gagging on nothing, seeing me relaxing, and slowly raised to her feet, panting as if she ran a marathon.

Her father adjusted himself too, grimacing at my words, still distressed despite my reassurance.

"So is the god made up or… is he telling the truth?" He muttered to himself while caressing Ophelia's hair.

I was just starting to correcting him on the history behind the name when a new voice interrupted me in my tracks.

"What. The. Hell?" The new, female, voice slowly stressed in what felt barely contained rage. I paled at the new sound and stopped glaring at the duo. I did not dare to turn around.

Please, for the love of whatever deity there is out there, Naga, Grima, someone, please make sure she did not heard all of that.

"Ah, Severa of the Moonblood, my dear love!" The man exclaimed with a bright smile, even if I could see a bead of sweat starting to fall on his cheek.

Instead, the little demon had no such qualms and immediately ran to her, passing us and hugging the woman, "Mother! You are back! I knew I felt your dark presence approaching us! Did you hear the soul of our new comrades? They shined so brightly!" She immediately started to say.

I still did not dare to turn around. I refused to face the woman. I preferred the cowardly option over facing the only witness … wait. Maybe I should just ki-

"Yes sweetie. I heard all of them. Owain, what was that?" The woman started to say much to my embarrassment, finishing her phrase with a commanding and aggressive tone.

"I did nothing, I swear!" The coward immediately lied at her face. No, you damn Terror of Archanea! Your crime was to not control that weapon of mass destruction that you call daughter! Be the great man that you pretend to be and face your punishment!

Face her wrath. Even better, face my wrath!

"Lady Robin offered! For Ophelia!" The worm tried to discharge his crime on his own blood. Granted, he was right, but what kind of father does that?

Not only a horrible man without the attributes but even a shitty father? For shame, Master of the Liar of Thousands Miracles, for shame.

I sighed and finally decided to turn around and face the newcomers and the real master of this house, just in time to see Robin smiling sheepishly at the mother of that cheeky little girl and admit "He is right, Lady Severa."

Severa, as turns out, was a redhead woman with long hair collected in a low ponytail and deep brown eyes. She seemed even very distraught at our presence, which I could understand.

Seeing three strangers in your house spouting nonsense at your daughter and, I can't believe it, her husband, would have such a reaction.

Startled, her gaze shifted almost in panic between the three of us, lingering between Donnel and Robin much like her husband before focusing on me, and saying, "Who are you? What are you doing here?" She asked, no, demanded us.

Robin coughed in embarrassment and looked away, a dust of red on her cheeks, replying, "We… already said that. I'm Robin. The young man with the pot on his head is Donnel and he is Hachiman." She repeated, pointing at the two of us with her hand when calling our names.

The redhead did not seem to calm down at the brief introduction. She gritted her teeth and ferociously replied, "I heard that! Why are you here?"

I grimaced and scratched the back of my head, sighing in defeat at the accusing look, almost regretting the loss of stupidity now that I was confronted with a panicking woman in full armour and a long sword on her back that could kill me in an instant.

"We said that too in our… speech…" I said slowly, unable to hide the disgust at the recent event that from now on will not be named, before adding, "… we are here to ask for help. Specifically, your husband's help." I explained, hoping that she did not decide to attack us for that reason.

The mother breathed slowly, trying to collect herself, while I heard Owain commenting my words in mild admiration, "Using reality as a base… what an advanced technique…" but I resolved myself to ignore him and focusing on what seemed the most rational person in this family.

Which, seeing that was the same woman that seemed to lost her temper at the sight of strangers in her house, while the other two were focusing on the theatrics of an introduction, was slightly (scratch that, a lot) worrying.

Thankfully, the redheaded mother succeeded at regaining her composure, "Why him? Why not somebody else?" She asked with a bit of desperation, of all things, cracking in her voice, despite her eyes remaining strong and steady.

It was confusing, to put it simply. It was an extreme reaction for just a visit to ask for help.

"No particular reason. We asked in the village and they said that Sir Owain was a powerful and knowledgeable mage that could help us." Robin explained in my stead, noticing how I was lost in my thoughts.

"We'll just have to ask in the next village if it is a problem." I added with a shrug, looking at the wall in fake disinterest, baiting her to see what kind of problem she had with us.

Thankfully, she was too distressed to see under my ploy or more simply, she really was only thrown off by our unannounced presence, because the woman sighed, exhaustion clear in her features despite the short conversation, and said, "No, it's fine. I'm just… surprised and tired. I just finished my round of patrol and saw the horses outside and…" She did not finish, but the three of us nodded in understanding.

"We understand Lady Severa! We're sorry intrudin' in yer' home." Donnel apologized hastily, bowing deeply.

I hummed in acknowledgment, and Robin smiled at her in reassurance, showing her that yes, even we were fine with the outburst.

"Magnificent, heroes of fate! With the complete harmony of our holy family, I humbly welcome you once again to the Lair of the Thousands Miracles! Please, take a seat!" The mage exclaimed with a big and cocky smile, showing us theatrically their absolutely normal table with his hand.

That was when the bombastic attitude diminished, and he asked us seriously, "I heard something about a lost past? Do not fret, we will keep this between ourselves." He reassured us, his smile diminishing in something more somber.

"Yeah." I sighed, looking at Robin to see how she felt about narrating her experience. She was smiling, clearly relaxed by the theatrics and the cheerfulness of the house.

I blinked and looked at the two blondes in curiosity.

* * *

Maybe, just maybe, Owain had something going on. As expected by the quirky character.

"I see, so Miss Robin forgot everything about her past when you found her. And you two deduced that she must have some connection to the higher-ups of the Grimleal based on her coat." Severa summarized our brief tale, while Ophelia was looking at the Tactician with something between wonder and sadness.

Mrs. Severa glanced at her husband, who was grimacing, clearly worried about the news. He glanced back at her and nodded.

"That is extremely disconcerting, Lady Robin. Despite my great power and experience, I do not possess a spell able to manipulate memory. I am ashamed to say that I am specialized in Anima Magic, and such things would probably be studied by Dark Magicians, which I abandoned a long time ago." He explained, making the albino turn her gaze down in disappointment.

I grimaced at the news, but I could not do anything about it. The only thing that I could try to do was comfort her in some way. I hesitated, still unused to the notion of physical contact that was so easy in this western-based county, but after a moment, I went for it.

I touched her arms in an awkward attempt of comfort, just under the eyes of the family. Robin relaxed a bit but decided to take my hand and squeeze it to complete the little scene, much to my embarrassment.

While Ophelia did not think of it too much and just glanced in curiosity at the action, the parents were a completely different story. Owain paled, like he remembered something extremely important, like a fire untamed, suddenly looking bothered by something, while his wife grimaced at the scene.

"So…", she forced herself to divert her eyes from our hands and locked her eyes on me, looking almost accusingly at me, "What about you Mr. "Avatar of the War God?", she asked half-mockingly and half-amused.

I gritted my teeth in anger at the reminder of the earlier speech but did not let my embarrassment take control of me. Instead, I simply waited a dozen moments to calm myself before answering.

"Look, I'll tell you but… please do not go spreading this around, ok?" I asked, actually pleading the two.

Owain and Severa blinked, caught off guard by my sudden shift in attitude, and looked at each other in a small confusion.

"Sure. I don't know what is so big about it but I don't see the problem." The redhead mother conceded without a problem, shrugging her shoulders.

Owain, on the other hand, smiled widely and exclaimed, "Of course, Sir Hachiman. Rest assured that your secret will remain as well guarded as the Feroxi borders!"

I sighed in relief at the two's promise. To be honest, I was not entirely sure about trusting them. I had no particular reason to do it. But I had no particular reason to not do it too, because up until now, all the people I met seemed honour bound in their behaviors, and those two did not seem to be the start of the exception.

However, before I could gather the courage to start telling them my story, Donnel stood up, getting the attention of the entire group on him. He did not even flinch at the various eyes on him, simply looking at the younger girl of the group with an encouraging smile, "Ei Ophelia, do ya' want to come out with me?" He asked, making me widen my eyes in surprise.

"What? No! I wanna hear him!" Ophelia predictably replied, pouting cutely at him with what should be a terrifying glare, only, it was terrifying for completely different reasons.

Donnel shrugged at the answer, and said, "Aw, shucks, shame. I wanted to akin' see ya Pa' special rock. But if ya' don't wanna…." He baited her with a sad look, sitting again on the chair.

I blinked at the tactic the boy used, unsure on how she would react at the choice. As expected, she immediately looked conflicted in front of the choice given, looking panicked at the young farmer, then me, then her parents, who were visibly amused at the reaction.

It was the father that gave her the last encouragement necessary for her to go with him, "Well, little chosen, what are you waiting for? The legacy of a hero awaits for you to marvel your eyes on his relic! Be proud, because you will be the first to see it!" He said with a proud smile.

Ophelia's eyes brightened at the older mage's words, and she immediately nodded with a smile of her own. She jumped out of her chair and theatrically tended her hand towards the Villager, who was, again, getting up.

"Then let us go, Son of the Survivor, and show me the legacy of a tainted soldier!" She exclaimed, making Donnel laugh in mirth at the name given. He turned towards me and nodded in my direction.

I simply nodded back, thankful of his idea, and that simple gesture, that easy acknowledgment, seems to make his day for how enthusiastically he skipped out of the room after the young blonde.

"What a powerful smile, my friend! I did not expect such power from the incarnation of a War God!" Owain commented, making his wife sigh in exasperation at his attitude, shaking her head.

I blinked, surprised of the strange comment, before realizing that, yes, I was smiling at Donnel when I nodded back at him.

"No matter. What is with all this secrecy? What's up with all of this?" She asked, if a bit forcefully, slightly irritated at all the secrecy.

I breathed, closing my eyes for a moment to just relax and let my doubts go away. Obviously, that did not worked. What did make me gather my wits was, however, the heat of Robin's hand still locked in mine.

Hopefully, those two could help me. The chance was slim, almost impossible, but I could not help but hang onto that little hope I had every time I asked the question.

"Have you ever heard of the Outrealms Gates?" I finally asked, finally opening my eyes, prepared for another delusion and a dead end.

Only to see the chance actualizing. The two eyes widened in surprise, the redhead's face blanched in what I could only place as panic and fear, while her husband face rapidly switched between surprise, panic and then scolded in a more serious gaze.

"You know something." I affirmed, and I could not keep the hope and happiness out of my tone. "Tell me where to find them." I demanded, immediately jumping on my feet and leaning towards them in anticipation.

"Why should we?" Severa instead replied seriously, hardening her eyes in something wearier. I growled at the answer, but a quick shock of my hand by Robin made me recollect my focus.

Of course. Other worlds are dangerous. It is normal for them to be cautious; I admonished myself.

I sat down, breathing in and out to calm my heart, and explained, "I am an Outrealmer. I came from another world. One completely different from yours."

"Y-you are?" Owain replied in evident surprise, his voice cracking in excitement at the news. I nodded in confirmation.

"T-that's… fantastic… dear Naga, a legendary Outrealmer…", he murmured, smiling as widely as a child at his surprise birthday party, much to my surprise and perplexity at the extreme reaction.

"Calm down Owain. He may be lying." The woman admonished severely, glaring at him. Turning back to me, she added, "Look, we can't just believe you on this. Have you any proof on the claim?" She asked, giving us a grimace.

My eye twitched in irritation at the admittedly reasonable request, but I did not show any other sign of my growing dread and irritation. Because of course, people in the know would ask proof. It was only logical to not believe a person the first time they met on something so outlandish.

"You don't have any." The woman affirmed, surprisingly noticing my minor involuntary movement and drawing her own conclusion.

I took a moment to think about how to answer that statement, because of how delicate and important the matter was. "It is not that." I finally replied, making the woman raise an eyebrow in skepticism, but I continued nonplussed, "I am simply not sure how conclusive what I can present you is. In my purse, I have my nightwear from home and my shoes. They should be made by different materials, synthetic material to be exact, but I am not sure how that would convince you." I explained plainly.

The redhead mother did not look exactly convinced of my explanation, but she did seem to at least consider the possibility that I was not lying. That was good, she wasn't dismissing it as just me being a fake or a lunatic.

Which would mean that they had a decent grasp on what an Outrealmer was. They had firsthand experience with them.

And that meant that the Exalt was wrong on thinking that Outrealmers were a rare breed, or at least I was not the only one that appeared in recent years.

"I have another 'proof' if you would call it that, but even that it is nothing conclusive; I have… knowledge that you do not seem to have." I added, looking at Robin in a sort of signal.

The Tactician did not immediately catch up on what I was trying to say, but after a couple of moments, her eyes lit up in understanding.

"Like what?" Mrs Severa asked with only a trace of scepticism, while her husband said, "Show us!" in excitement.

Robin positioned the Thunder Tome on the table, making sure that all of us could see what she was doing. Then she slowly tapped on the book with a forefinger, murmuring, "Thunder.", under her breath.

Showing her hand to the group, all of us could see her hand covering in static, much more visible than the last time she tried. I wondered if she did that for visual effect or she was trying something else to complete the spell.

Nothing happened.

Robin grimaced and looked at Mrs. Severa in contemplation, while I internally panicked at the little flop. "Robin?" I questioned her with as much calm as I could muster in the situation, which was frankly a lot.

"It worked." She said, looking at the couple in contemplation. Mrs. Severa was grimacing at the little display, while Mr Owain was looking around in small excitement, even if I could see traces of confusion on him.

"What happened?" he asked in glee, searching the house for sign of something amiss.

"I felt a pull, Owain." The Hero explained calmly at her husband, making him stop and turn towards her. Robin sighed in relief at the admission, while I did the same, only in my mind.

"So you felt that? I thought I screwed up somewhere." Robin admitted with a relieved smile.

"Yes. I… no my armours was attracted to Lady Robin. It was a weak pull, so I stopped it without thinking. Is it what you want to show us? Because I don't see anything impressive in this." She commented, shrugging.

Owain blinked and tried to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. He closed his mouth again and thought about what just happened, all the while I was wondering if what the woman in front of me had just done an absurd feat of strength or not.

I did not know how strong the force Robin used was, so it could have been something weak and unnoticeable, but what surprised me was that I did not see her even bulge when she was under the effect of the spell.

"You felt a pull…, while under the effect of a Thunder Spell?" Owain analyzed between himself, slowly processing the strange description on what happened.

He then turned to me. The blonde Sage did not seem to have lost his curiosity, but he seemed clearly calmer compared to the minutes before. "Oh Great Sage of The Land of the Sun! Please allow us of your otherworldly knowledge!"

Scratch that, he was the same as before. Damn him, and I thought he was being serious for a moment.

"So she tried to pull me. What is the big deal?" Severa protested lightly, looking at her husband curiously. Said husband turned to her with a big, excited smile, looking more like a child than an adult with his sheer enthusiasm, and replied, "Lady Robin controlled your enchanted armour with a Thunder Tome! That is unheard of! She bypassed all the magical protection I bestowed upon your Ta-"

"Shut it! Not in front of them!" Mrs. Severa immediately stopped him in his track. Robin tilted her head in confusion, while I gave out a long, suffered sigh, knowing full well what he was going to say.

Naming your equipment… I cringed at the memories that the man seemed to want to make me resurface despite all my attempts.

I am not going to address that.

"In any case, I now understand what you mean." The mother said with a small nod, before turning to us. "How do you do that? Despite appearances, Owain is an extremely powerful mage. His enchantments are nothing to scoff at, and you two did not seem strong enough to just bypass that." The Hero said curiously, looking at us with a new light in her eyes.

I did not know if I felt offended at the last sentience or her husband should feel that.

"Yes, Avatar of the War God! Bestow us your secrets!"

I felt extremely offended. You will pay for the insult, Mrs Severa. And it will be glorious.

"If I had to guess why it bypassed the enchantments, I guess because the force generated is not of magical origins." I explained curtly, crossing my arms.

"How so?" The woman asked, now intrigued at the phenomena.

"It seems that electricity creates a force when used. Hachiman called it electromagnetic force." Robin started to explain, before going on an enthusiastic tirade about how the spell worked, causing the amazement of the blonde father and the disbelief of the redhead mother.

"With Hachiman's spell, we neutralized an entire group of bandit without spilling blood or swinging a weapon." She concluded with a big smile, making me shrug.

I looked at the ceiling and commented, "It was nothing much. Ardan and the villagers did all the heavy lifting, and you and Marth powered the spell. I only gave the idea." I dismissed easily.

I heard the albino huff in exasperation, and she probably did or mutter something strange, because I heard Mrs. Severa giggle in mild amusement at something.

I glanced back at the two adults in front of me, and finally asked, "Is this enough proof?".

The couple's answer was more immediate than I expected. "Of course!" The Sage said without hesitation, gesturing dramatically, "Such obscure knowledge! Such mastery of the unknown force of nature! Only the Divine are known to reach this kind of power, and it is no mistake that only a mystical figure such as an Outrelmer could hope to match their wisdom!"

The Hero rolled her eyes at the small speech her husband gave me, but she did not outwardly disagree with him, "While I am not as convinced as my husband… you made a good case. We will… trust you… on your claims." She hesitantly admitted.

I could not hide my relief at the verdict from the woman of the house, feeling as if something was lifted from my shoulders. "That's enough." I replied, before adding, "Now tell me what you know." I said, making the two exchange a glance between themselves as if communicating something.

"Please." I added with more emotion than I would care to admit I had.

The two started talking between themselves but strangely, there was no sound. I blinked and watched carefully as the two parents' expressions shifted in various degrees of emotions, with the redhead being generally angry and nervous while the blonde idiot being the more enthusiastic and determined.

Then something happened between the two, Owain's mood shifted into something more serious and tense, and in response, Severa became more indecisive.

The exchange lasted no more than half a minute, but in the end it was the Hero who seemed to concede a point, seeing her sigh in what I could only guess was exhaustion and gave her nod of assent.

The sage nodded back and suddenly, the two were facing us again, their words now comprehensible again.

"Very well, Son of the Sun!" Owain announced loudly with a big, still somewhat cocky, smile. "We will grant you our limited knowledge." He exclaimed, much to my relief.

"Don't get your hopes up. It is nothing much. Our experience with the Outrealm Gate is limited." Severa admonished, probably seeing my expression.

I grimaced. Shit, if she said that… no. Maybe something can help. Don't be stupid, Hachiman. Just listen.

"Go on." I implored them.

Owain nodded and tried to start the explanation but, judging by the closed eyes and massive grin he was sprouting, I was reasonably sure that he was going to start with some stupid tale.

I was thankful when Mrs. Severa cut him and took over the explanation. Small mercies.

"We have no idea how you came here." She started to say. I openly shrugged at that comment. That was of little importance to me. Yes, knowing how I came here would be useful, but if I had a way to open up a Gate back to my home, that answer would be unnecessary.

"As far as we know, the Outrealm Gates are opened only by the Divine Dragons. People like The Voice of Naga, or the Goddess Naga herself. I can't imagine how other people could open up from other worlds. I guess you pissed off some God. You shouldn't have be going around naming yourself after a God. Maybe this is your punishment." She said, sounding strangely pitiful of my situation.

I grimaced, scratching my head while rolling her words in my mind. I immediately dismissed what she thought was the possible cause of my arrival here. There was simply no way that it was because I displeased a God.

If I have to follow the Shintoism as a guide on how to deal with them, while I was not the most devoted follower, I hardly believed myself as someone that went on his way to piss them off.

If really some sort of God was behind this, it would be because he was more bored than mad, probably. At my name though, I am not the only

Hachiman in existence back home, after all.

"So, how can I came in contact with Naga?" I asked them, remembering my discussion with Emmeryn. She did say that the only person capable of doing this would be that Tiki.

Problem was, she was in another continent, and while I would not be averse at going to wherever this Valm was, I preferred not to waste months of my life to travel here, if possible. Those two have experience with this, so maybe there is another way to contact this Naga besides The Voice.

If she even was a real thing here. Possible seeing the fantasy setting, but not an absolute truth. It generally was fifty-fifty in fantasy settings. Judging by the two parents' faces after I asked that question, I was more believing that it was the first option.

"The Voice of Naga, of course." Severa said flatly, moving her hair with her hand almost in a dismissive manner.

I nodded at the words and did not say anything waiting for them to add something more. There was a minute of awkward silence, where the two adults were waiting for my answer.

"And…?" I decided to ask, encouraging them to add the bit of information that I was sure they knew. Severa's visage morphed in something almost offended at the prompt and made to say what I felt was a rather biting remark, but that was when her husband blocked her.

"The second method is not one that you should desire, Child of The Rising Sun!" He started to explain gravely, earning a punch in the gut from his wife. He visibly flinched at the hit, but his grin did not fade and he continued, "The conditions of this sacred ritual are not something that you should want to reproduce! For you see, young Avatar of the War God, the entire world must be engulfed of a great darkness to let our Goddess hear our plea!"

I noticed Robin become particularly distressed at that notion, but I did not let that mumbo jumbo discourage me. The translation of his talk was rather cliché and simple. The world must be in peril. A big fat check, with the Undead roaming around.

"If the deep darkness reached Ylisse, the child of the Blessed Bloodline must reach the Residence of The Divine Protector, armed with his Spirit and the Divine Relic, the Binding Shield. Once there, the child must pray to the Goddess and if judged worthy, our Goddess will appear." Owain finished grievously, making Mrs. Severa sigh in exasperation.

I grimaced. Not because of what the weirdo said, no. Understanding what he meant was surprisingly easy, even for a foreigner like me. Someone of the Exalt Bloodline has to reach a holy place and pray.

Easy enough. Now, what was the holy place and what was the Binding Shield were the only problems that I could foresee, but maybe Emmeryn would know more about them, if I asked. That and… this method needed the help of Emmeryn, Chrom or Lissa.

"Tch. Damn it." I murmured under, tapping the table nervously, lost in thought. Would they even help me? No, stupid question. They already tried to help me, and while this was a big step up from simply giving information, I was sure they would give me their hands if I asked.

Emmeryn may not be able to help directly, with her being in charge of her kingdom, but she wasn't the only child of the "Blessed Bloodline", as Owain put it. There were Chrom and Lissa, and I knew that at least the first would not mind helping me.

He was a classic fairy tale prince. Handsome, gentle and charitable. Mixed with a hothead personality of a shonen protagonist, and he probably did not particularly care about the possible heresy implications of doing this.

The question wasn't if they would help me. The question was if I wanted their help. Which I was… not sure. I did not like asking for favors from people; I could ask help from the few friends I had if I really needed, but I never wanted the charity of others.

Since my time in middle school, I always prided myself of being independent, and do not need any kind of help from others and the society as a whole. While now I knew that line of thinking was incredibly stupid and self-centered, I still preferred to ask the help of the few people I considered friends, if push comes to shove.

Asking the help from people who were basically strangers, despite their goodwill, still felt wrong for me. No, in any other situation, I would never dream of asking for their help.

Except, this wasn't any other situation, and the alternative was going to ask the help of another person in another continent.

"Hachiman? Are you alright?" Robin's voice snapped me from my inner monologue. I focused again on them, seeing our hosts looking at me with a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

"Yes. It seems we have to send a letter to Emmeryn then… hopefully, Chrom or Lissa will help me." I said, earning a nod from my companion and a grimace from the redhead Hero.

"You would inconvenience royalty to ask your help?" She asked disbelievingly. I made to reply, but I noticed her husband giving her a deadpan look of incredulity and amusement. She took a couple of moments to notice that, and when she did, she blushed and asked violently, "What?"

Owain looked away, shrugging and dismissing her question with a, "Nothing.", making her lightly punch him in the shoulder.

It wouldn't take a genius to understand there was a story there.

Not that it mattered to me. Now I had another path. Now we just had to find the Binding Shield, whatever it was, and understand what the holy place was.

"Can you tell me more about the sacred place and this Binding Shield?" I asked them, interrupting the light squabble the married couple were undergoing. The two stopped upon hearing my question, and Owain explained.

"The Holy Ground is situated on the peak of a perilous mountain at the end of Ylisse. Mount Prism, bathed in the divine presence of the Divine Dragon, a place of rest and peace, the feeble connection between Heaven and earth!" he boasted.

Severa stopped him before her husband could derail on the subject, and hesitantly added, "The Binding Shield is a relic of the Exalt Line." She simply said, clearly more reserved unlike the blonde mage in telling him everything.

That was fine. I had more than enough information to have a new course of action for myself. The Binding Shield was in the hands of Emmeryn, and the sacred place is the so-called Mount Prism. If that was a coded name, it should be possible to understand the true name of the mountain if it is a Holy Ground.

But there was something that bothered me from the information that I gathered.

The first was, how the two Plegian in front of me know of all of this. Everything that they said sounded like a secret ritual only known to the Ylissean Royalty, and that they knew about it was extremely suspicious.

Which would mean that at worst, they were lying and making this up, and at best, they are some sort of secret agents hiding in foreign territory. The latter seemed unlikely from what I understand of Emmeryn, but I may be wrong and she is actually devious enough to rule a country.

If they told me the truth, how they came in possession of this information wasn't something that I needed or wanted to know. I'll just have to send Emmeryn a letter and ask her about what to do. Shouldn't be too hard to get her going, seeing as the Undead roamed the country.

Which took me to my second point. Apparently, the Exalt line could contact their Goddess, but they did not tell me. If a couple of Plegians knew they could, why did they not tell me before? Why only talk about The Voice of Naga?

Either they did not want me to know, or they really did not know of this ability? They did not think the requirements were satisfied?

The possibilities were endless, and the only way to know for sure was to contact them. And that would mean revealing to them I know what was an incredibly private secret. And who knows how they would react to that?

Would they cut us down? Would they not care? Would they question us?

I gritted my teeth, making Robin frown in concern.

Damn it. I had to think about this later.

"Thanks." I said them, bowing my head slightly, genuinely thankful of the explanation. "You helped a lot."

Mrs. Severa glanced at me with a hint of cautions and wariness. "What you will do now?" She asked, prompting a more carefree nod from her husband.

I hesitate only for a couple of moments before deciding to be completely honest with them. Even if I had all the information for my travels, I was not there only for this. If I wanted to score some tips from the blonde chuuniboy in magic, being reserved and uncooperative was the worst thing I could do.

So I tell them the truth, "As said, I would like to contact Emmeryn to ask about this ritual you said, but aside that, I am not sure. We still need to find a lead for Robin, and at least take Donnel back home before I personally go to Emmeryn and do this ritual." I explained, before grimacing, realizing what all that I just said would mean for me.

First off, Robin's past. The only lead we had was her Grimleal coat, from which we deduced that she was devoted. A flimsy deduction in the best of cases, and with that we planned to find a holy village in hope to… what? That somebody recognizes her? Hoping the Grimleal had a type of archive that could identify her?

And even if all of that happened, what next? Would this imaginary archive have the location of her parents, or would it be another dead end?

In short, helping Robin would take a lot of time. Time that I could spend trying to go back home.

I groaned and covered my face with my hands, feeling the start of a headache.

Damn it.

I sighed and looked back at the two who were watching me, one in concern and the other in curiosity.

"Moving on." I decided, storing the doubts for later use because now I was in the middle of a conversation and it was not the time to reevaluate my choices.

"I am here to ask… Sir Owain." I said cautiously, trying to hide my reservation at the title for this good-for-nothing delusional adult, "To help me in my study of magic." I explained, making Robin look away with a cough of embarrassment.

That caused the female Hero to give the albino a curious glance, her brows furrowed in confusion, but fortunately (for Robin), her husband was incredibly taken by the prospective, jumping on his feet with a big smile on his face, loudly asking, "Woah! Really? The legendary Son of The Rising Sun, the powerful Avatar of the War God, has come to ask for my guidance in the mystic arts? You want to become my disciple?"

One of my eyes twitched in irritation at the various monikers and the boisterous proclaim, and I felt incredibly close to just taking back my question right then and there.

Unfortunately, I needed all the help I could get to even have a fighting chance against those Undeads, so I mentally counted to ten and nodded to him, saying, "Something like that. I need to know at least the basics before departing to the next city to search for Robin's family." I explained as calmly as possible.

The redhead sighed, nursing her head as she had a headache, while the sage seemed to have ignored the majority of what I said to him, enthusiastically saying, "Wonderful! Then follow me, my dark apprentice! I will make sure to unlock your hidden power and master the art of the mystic!" Before showing me the way outside.

I sighed loudly, not bothering to hide my annoyance at his antics in front of the others, but followed him anyway under the resigned gaze of the mistress of the house and the amused and clearly high-spirited Tactician.

That treacherous backstabber. She was enjoying my suffering.

I did not hear clearly what Mrs. Severa was starting to say when I got up, but I was sure she was talking to Robin, the two exchanged a few words before following us out in the open, where they met the younger member of our respective group.

The young Ophelia sat on the ground, listening attentively to our farmer, who seemingly was telling her some sort of story that seemed to have her engrossed.

The attention immediately vanished when she spotted her two parents, and she quickly dropped him and flung herself to her no-good father babbling excitedly about the story of Ardan the Survivor.

Donnel did not seem offended by the sudden departure and decided to follow her lead and approach me with the same enthusiasm as the child. I did not know how to take that.

"Sir?" He asked when in front of me, tilting his head in question.

I internally cringed at the sight, deciding that the kind of look he gave me was really too much similar to my little sister's pleading eyes when she wanted me to do something that I would not like but I would do anyway because she was that cute, and awkwardly leaned my right hand on his shoulder.

Once I've done that, I ripped off any generic mentor character that I knew of and gave him a small smile and said a generic, "Good job." Donnel smiled happily, and after a couple of seconds I decided to add, a more sincerely, "And thanks again Donnel."

And there was light.

Ack! Too much too much! It bur-! Ok, I should stop that.

Yes, the farmer was positively radiant at my heartfelt thanks, and it did make me still uncomfortable being held in such high regard, but my reaction wasn't that negative at him. I simply let his shoulder go and explained to him the situation.

"Sir Owain allowed us his teachings. If you want to hear him out, you are welcome to join us." I said to him, while he simply followed me.

"I'm not sure, Sir. I reckon I might not know what Sir Owain is talkin' about." He confessed with clear embarrassment and sadness.

I forcibly ignored the pitiful look that highly resembled a kicked puppy and, looking towards the Sage, I simply replied, "It is up to you. If you don't understand something, Robin and I…" which would be only Robin, "… would help you understand."

The promise of more lessons seemed to motivate the pot-wearing boy, who perked up and followed me with more pep in his steps.

"Sir, where's Lady Robin?" He asked while approaching the father-daughter duo, not seeing the albino around.

I briefly looked around, quickly gazing at our surroundings and towards the home, but I did not see her. "With Mrs. Severa." I simply replied, making Donnel nod in acknowledgment.

I wasn't sure how to take the sudden disappearance. I was sure that the two did not seem to want to make us…. disappear, but thinking that Robin was alone with a powerful woman that we've barely known for some hours did not give me a good feeling.

My musings were interrupted by the booming voice of the Sage, who was keeping his daughter on his arms, saying, "Here you are, my destined apprentice! I hope you prepared yourself for the hellish training that await us! Calling out the force of nature may seem like an easy task, but bending the rule of the Goddess is a dangerous and forbidden path!" he said.

His daughter interrupted him, wiggling herself from his grasp. Seeing that, the father gently took her down, careful to not have her hurt herself. Once on the ground, the blonde girl smiled brightly and loudly proclaimed, "Daddy, I mean, Father, is right! It will take years of trials and errors to be able to call forth the force of the Goddess! Like this!" And she proceeded to proudly create a small fire on the palm of her hand, showing it to us with a smug grin.

Well, look at that, this eight-year-old is already better at me in magic. How humiliating.

Donnel dutifully clapped his hands, smiling cheerfully at the girl, who puffed her chest in pride, especially when her father playfully ruffled her hair.

"Good job, my little Chosen! But what did your mother say?" He lightly scolded, making the girl pout.

"To not use magic without permission…," she droned as if repeating a commandment, clearly annoyed at the rule. However, it did not stop her from protesting the situation, as any other child would do in her stead; "But faather! How can I show Sir. Hachiman my awesome abilities?"

I did not know why she wanted to impress me. I suspected that it was just an excuse so she could do some magic without fearing the anger of her mother, and I did not fault her for that. I know I would have done the same.

I mean, magic! Who doesn't want that?

I mean, this kind of magic. I certainly don't want the one that feels like being stabbed by boiling iron bars through my spine, or the one that comes with a talking plush that wanted to trick you to sell your soul for the survival of the universe. Even if the last one is reserved only for young girls.

"You don't, of course! Mother said that for a reason! But I'll let this slide just this once. I will not tell your mother." He said with a smile. The girl was still pouting, but she did nod in defeat at the reminder and allowed her father to give her another brief ruffle at her hair.

Ah, making the mother the source of the fear for your daughter. How devious of you, you damn chuuni. You really want your daughter to look up at you, uh? I guess that is normal for fathers around the worlds... Even my father does that, but it stopped working when she reached twelve…

No wait! My father is a hopeless daughter-con! That is not normal! For the behalf of an eventual son, I demand you to stop playing favorites; you

creep!

"Now, young disciple, show me the path you chosen for your rise to greatness!" He proclaimed with a wide and theatrical gesture.

I endured the urge to snap at him, a feat I felt was going to be common from now on, and actually tried to have a productive conversation with him despite his behaviour.

"Mana is everywhere and people can manipulate it to their liking." I summarized the scarce knowledge that I had on the subject.

Owain blinked, his smile vanishing from his stupid face, and looked at me aghast, as if not comprehending what I was saying.

I suppressed a smirk at his reaction, and quickly explained to him, "Magic is not present back home, or if it is, I did not discover it." With every word I said, the man paled in shock, while the daughter tilted her head in confusion, frowning.

The Sage made to ask something, but I quickly interrupted him, already having a decent idea of what he wanted to ask. "And before you ask, it is complicated. Maybe I'll tell you another time." I said, the underlying message being to not talk in front of his daughter, while my true intent was to never talk to him again.

Luckily for me, he simply accepted the explanation and crossed his arms in thought. He grimaced and closed the distance between us, the little girl at his tow, looking at her father curiously. The man in question glanced at her for a couple of seconds, humming in affirmation, before looking again at us, his smile back like it never disappeared.

"Very well. Listen up and engrave my words in your soul, my green disciple." He started to explain with his usual flair. Strangely enough, his tone wasn't as loud as usual, seeming almost stern in his behaviour. The impression just had to be destroyed by his speech.

"As you said, magic lives by the life force of the world and the person soul. It is untapped potential, raw power that lacks direction and purpose.

Bending it to your will is the basis of magic. Now focus." He said, tending his hand in a gesture.

I blinked, quickly decrypting the words in Japanese. I had to be honest, if it wasn't for all the novels and various anime I watched, most of it would have passed went in one ear and out the other. As it was, I had a decent grasp on what the older blonde was trying to say, with the exception on what he wanted me to do, especially with his hand.

Did he take me for an i- what?

My eyes widened when I felt a shiver all around my body. Focusing on the sensation, I started to 'see', even if it was more than a 'feeling', what I dubbed mana all around me.

Thanks to Robin, I could as do much, as could Donnel, who was looking around in what seemed wonder and awe. I could not blame him.

In front of me, Owain smirked at our reaction, gathering all the mana around him. That was not something extremely difficult to do. Both Donnel and I could do that. Not easily, but we could. But the blonde in front of me was moving the energy like… I could compare to a swollen river, with his flow violent and ready to suffocate us with the sheer presence.

And from what I could feel, the gathering was omnidirectional.

I had only me, Donnel, and Robin to compare this feat to, but of course, nothing our trio ever did, even if combined in our session though the weeks, was comparable to what I was witnessing.

The feeling disappeared, and I instinctively relaxed. The mana started to disperse, unused.

I internally groaned when I realized that, in fact, this waste of adulthood seemed actually competent as a mage and could probably back up all of his boastings. The horror.

"But as simple as it may sound, bending it to your own will is not an easy feat. An artefact, a medium, is required to manifest your incredible power; a medium that in which has sealed the same untapped power in itself. " He explained, taking out from his clothing a small book.

"The tomes and the staffs." I guessed, prompting the Sage to give me a satisfied smile.

"Exactly, my sharp student!" He exclaimed, making me almost sigh at his naming. He was really too much into this master-student relationship. I wondered if he wanted to abuse that…

"Of course, the material cannot be common wood or books. Power is stored in an object of divine and mystical origins, suturated with the remnants of the life force of the Divine Dragon Naga." He added with another wide gesture of his hand that I ignored for the sake of my patience.

"And how do I use them?" I instead focused on asking, much to the Sage's clear amusement.

He shook his head with a loud and clearly faked laugh and explained, "Not so fast, my dear follower! I admire your thirst for knowledge, but running ahead would result in catastrophic results!" He admonished.

I gritted my teeth at his answer. Not because he said I could not do that, but because I was foreseeing a basic training that was necessary for me to undergo to have the ability to even use the simplest of spells.

Which it could be incredibly time-consuming, depending on how fast I could grasp his instructions, but in the end, it would be worth it.

"Ok. What I am going to do?"

The blonde mage smiled at me, "As expected from my disciple, such determination and desire! Then ready yourself, young Incarnation! Your mind and soul will finally be able to fully express themselves after you undergo my secret training!" He exclaimed, putting his hand on my shoulder with a strong grip.

I sighed.

Despite the smile, I had the feeling that this would be really stressing for me.

* * *

"Good, good! I see it! Your legendary potential manifesting in this simple task! You are getting the hang of it!" An irritant idiot said from… somewhere.

I could not stop a growl from escaping my lips at the sudden interruption that almost made me lose my concentration at the exercise in hand.

I had my eyes closed and it was difficult for me to understand where the annoying voice came from. Nevertheless, I did not lose the 'grip' on the mana around me, and I continued to move it around me as I was doing for the last three minutes.

Strong grip. Force the energy at your binding. Synchronize with your breath. No, back to deep breath. Losing grip. Faster breath. Do not get irritated. Irritation is the enemy.

The mana circled me, following my half-assed commands at a snails speed, but at this moment I was just glad that it was following my lead in a more clear manner than befo-damn it!

I loudly groaned when I felt the 'grip' slip from me and the energy simply started to do its own thing, and I opened my eyes to rest for a bit.

Cracking my neck, I observed my surroundings, actually wondering how much time I spent in that 'trance', if one wanted to call it that, and judging how my improvised master and his wife were discussing something under their breath while ignoring me, I think it was quite a while.

Steps alerted my of another presence, and a quick glance confirmed the presence of the Tactician at my back, extending me a small water bottle with a small smile.

I did not question the gesture and immediately gulped it down, feeling suddenly thirsty after that little exercise.

Despite how it tasted, the water still felt like a godsend, and I had a sudden realization of how taxing the usage of magic was for the mind. I kind of expected that, but feeling it was… strange. Not bad, just… strange.

I finished gulping down the water, feeling disappointed in how quickly it ended and gave the bottle back to Robin. It must have shown it to my face, because the albino immediately reassured me, "I am going to take another if you want."

I shook my head and stood up from my sitting position on the ground, stretching my back. "It's fine." I answered curtly, glancing around in search of our young villager. Predictably, when he noticed my gaze, Donnel immediately started to make way towards us. "How much time was I out?" I asked her.

She hummed in thought, answering, "A bit. At least… half an hour I think. I heard this town's bell some time ago."

I nodded in confirmation, looking at Donnel who now was in front of us. I made to ask how his training was, but Robin beat me to the punch, "You seemed distracted Donnel. What's the problem?" She asked in concern, reinforcing my idea of a sweet older sister looking out for her younger brother.

Looking down in embarrassment, Donnel scratched his neck and, blushing slightly, he answered, "'s nothing… havin' much on my mind. I can't focus well. 's difficult focusin'…"

"I see." I simply commented, unsure on how to react at the discovery. "Take your time then." I suggested lamely, shrugging. I supposed a lot happened to him in the last weeks, but I did not think that it was affecting him. He did not show it much, with all the hero worship he was having towards us.

That was when our hosts decided to approach us again, interrupting our discussion. Mrs. Severa did not seem extremely pleased, wearing a deep scowl, while the blonde idiot was smiling bashfully as if nothing much happened between them.

"Congratulations, young Avatar! Your inner self finally showed the world what he is made of! But do not celebrate yet! The road is still long, and this is only but a simple step to unleashing your legendary power!" He exclaimed while his little girl nodded trying to give off a sage vibe.

She was failing.

"Rest for now. The first steps are always the hardest to take! Do not start running if-", he suddenly stopped, and the jovial expression shifted suddenly in something more serious, and he started to emit… something.

I tensed, and felt my two companions following my lead, Robin reaching for her tome in her cloack…

Only to finally hear a loud sound. A horn.

And after a couple of seconds the horn played again.

At the third time, the sound was suddenly interrupted by something crashing. That was when the first screams of panic started.

"Owain, take Ophel-" the redhead Hero started to say, only for her husband to stop her in her tracks.

"I am following you. Sir Hachiman, Lady Robin, Sir Donnel, I have to ask you to take Ophelia to the church." The Sage asked, looking at us pleading.

Oh. An attack, I realized.

I gulped and nodded, putting a hand on the young blonde's shoulder. Ophelia was looking at us, confused by the strange change of atmosphere that occurred. "Father?" she asked feebly.

"I am coming too." Robin immediately said, and the young farmer, the dumb kid that it was, followed her lead with a determined "Yeah!"

I snapped my head towards them, glaring at the two, "Robin, Donnel what the-" I tried to argue, not bothering to hid my anger, but the albino stopped me with a determined look.

"Hachiman, we will be fine. I'll lead by advising and staying in the back." She said with her three-times damned determined glare. I looked at Donnel, who was more hesitant when he saw my clear disapproval, but he was quick to recover.

"I'm helpin' too!"

I growled and tried to protest the two's decision, but words failed me. I knew they were going not going to follow my decision as of now, and I knew that I was not prepared for an invasion of enemy forces. Undeads, bandits or Ylisseans, it did not matter.

I gritted my teeth and glared as hard as I could at the two, but the two did not show any sign of backing out. "This is not your battle…" I reasoned. I already know before the two would speak up that it was a weak comeback at best, so I interrupted the two.

"Robin, if you really have to go, don't you dare throw yourself in the middle of the battle, and watch out for Donnel. Donnel, you better follow every single word from Robin's mouth. Am I clear?" I practically ordered them with much more desperation that I wanted to show.

The two nodded, and I turned my attention back on the family. Mrs. Severa was on her knee, smiling surprisingly tenderly at her daughter, reassuring her, "Don't worry Ophelia. I will make sure I and your stupid father will come back with me. I promise." She said with a small smile.

Ophelia nodded dully, still confused by all the chaos.

She then proceeded to turn her gaze to me, her eyes hardening in determination, "Keep her safe." She ordered… no she pleaded me.

I grimaced. "I…" I hesitated to answer, flashes of my brief battled intruding my mind and clouding my determination. "...will." I finished with a murmur.

I did not like the conversation. Not at all. I wasn't a fighter. They shouldn't have given their daughter to me of all people.

But it seemed my weak self was enough for them. Fools.

"Do not worry, my little chosen. Your legendary father and mother are going to make their name written in the annals of the world! Our immeasurable power and light will guide us to victory!" He boasted with a proud smile.

Ophelia smiled back and nodded.

I gripped my hand tighter on her back, catching her attention. I smiled at her, or at least tried. I was not sure of the result. "Would you guide me to the church?" I asked her.

She proudly nodded and started to drag me towards the city.

With a last glance back, I watched how the group ran into the house to grab their weapons, vanishing from my sight.

I grimaced.

I did not like this last conversation. At all.

Hopefully, the death flag we raised will not come back to haunt us. It had better not.

* * *

"Undead." The female voice of the albino tactician commented with a tsk of irritation.

He observed the nightmares in front of him. It has been… years since the last time they fought those creatures. Since before… since when they arrived back in Ylisse.

They did not change much since the last time he saw them. Unnatural abomination that slowly walked towards their victims like dying corpses. Glowing eyes that focused only on the prey in front of them.

Weak only in looks but strong when they needed to add more corpses to their ranks.

The only thing that stopped him blasting off this… this… single thing was the determined shout of a youth wearing a pot on his head that destroyed it with single and precise strike at its mask.

The Risen dusted like all of his kind before it, leaving nothing left.

Owain glanced at his wife and found her looking back at him with contained fury. Not the hot and explosive one that characterized her. No, it was more calm, her beautiful visage stoned in a neutral expression that hides all her emotion.

However, the look quickly melted in a small, and admittedly reassuring, smile when their eyes crossed. And he felt his lips answer in kind, trying to ease her to the situation.

But there was no denying it. They were scared.

And how could they not be. They were back. After more than a decade of waiting, those dastard monsters, those abominations that destroyed emotionlessly everywhere they roamed into, that took everything and everyone from them…

They were back. Here. Where they lived. Where Ophelia lived.

The simple thought of his daughter made him freeze, images of various slaughtered corpses flashing back in his mind. And for a brief moment, the deathless visage of his mother overlapped onto the visage of his little Chosen one.

"Donnel, stay with me until we've reached the front line. Dame Severa, Sir Owain, pair up. If you can not simply break their masks in one hit, target the same one and quickly finish it off." The same voice from before called out.

But there was a difference this time, he realized. He was not alone. He had living legends with them right now.

The albino's gaze was focused, cold, almost uncaring of her foes while her voice carried strong authority within it. This was not Lady Robin in front of them. She was not the lost, confused woman that knocked on their door in search of guidance.

This was the Queen. The Queen of Ylisse, the mastermind behind the defeat of Plegia and Valm. The Grandmaster that leaded a group of dozens of soldiers and crushed entire armies of hundreds and thousands with her tactic and charisma with the causalities never rising over the first ten.

And she was here, leading them.

"Yes." Severa answered simply, and wasn't that a big telling sign of how shaken she was if she did not make any kind of sarcastic remark.

"Let's go to the main line of defense. Dispatch every Undead you see wandering." She ordered us, before starting to run again towards the various screams and sounds of battle, casting a Fire spell to attack a single Risen.

The abomination did seem to be more resilient than expected and survived the attack, and it tried to go for the Tactician.

She didn't even look it.

And the monster dusted when Sir Donnel, young, inexperienced, and utterly weak compared to Severa and himself, pierced the Risen from behind, killing it.

Donnel, the Village Hero, another living legend right in front of them, a man, now simply a kid, that could take on dozens of enemies by himself and destroy them with sheer power and skill alone.

He was there, and he was going to fight at their side.

Despite the situation, despite the memories resurfacing, Owain could not deny the feeling of glee that he felt when he thought about the possibility that they now had to fight at their side. To fight with his childhood heroes that his mom narrated right beside stories of the Hero-King and the First Exalt.

It was a sign, in a way.

They had to step up and help them. The hands of time had already changed the fate of the world, and it was up to them to build it to their own desire.

Like they were supposed to.

"Donnel, stay on the back lines and don't fight alone!" The Queen suddenly ordered, raising her voice to make her presence known to the others.

"Sir Owain, Dame Severa! Split at both sides of the battlefields!" She called out, giving them instructions. And, as Donnel did right a moment ago, I did not hesitate to follow her lead and charge in the first line of defence, preparing an Arcwind spell ready to blast away every enemy in my path.

Owain glanced at his wife, but saw her hesitate at the order, looking at him in preoccupation. The fear lasted only a second though. He smiled at her and she nodded back, huffing in exasperation and mouthing something that could have been either a 'Good Luck' or a 'Damn Idiot.'

A second later, she was on the front lines, beheading her first Risen in a decade with a single swing of her Forseti.

He did not have the time to observe further because the Sage was already blasting his first two Risen in this Ylisse. The first of a really long series, if he had a say in this.

Today was simply the day he started his life-long quest of protecting the future. Even if he now had added a new meaning in that phrase.

"Owain, thank the Gods!" A male voice, Ferd, his mind quickly supplied, called to him in relief. "Those things are impossible to kill! What are those?" He asked. He ducked a stray spear and punched a Risen in the face, before piercing said monster throat with his two-handed sword, Gram.

The Risen disintegrated in front of him.

"Ah, my fellow companion in arms. Those are but monsters created from the Darkness of Man. But fear not, because the Light will guide us to an unprecedented victory! Hear the Voice and open your heart to her advice!" Owain answered him.

Ferd grimaced and made to say something, but he was timely interrupted by the amplified female voice of the Future Queen of Ylisse, orders dispensing instructions.

_"Scatter them! They are easily tricked; kill them in small groups with Mages! Aim for the masks or the heart!"_

His mouth snapped closed, and he glanced at the Sage in question. "The Queen has given her instruction. Follow her lead, and everything will be alright. Spread the word." The blonde reassured while casting a simple Wind spell to a single Risen, busting its mask with that simple hit.

Ferd nodded and focused entirely on the battlefield. The two split and started to cut down Risen while easing the worries of their fellow fighters.

It was easier than he remembered. Risen were surprisingly fragile, and he found that he did not need more than a first level spell to kill one of them, and a second-level spell was only necessary for a group of three or more.

That did not stop him from creating hurricanes and infernos to utterly obliterate his enemies, however.

One Risen, two Risens, another group of four Risens, a single Risen, a small group of two Risens. Kill after kill, the number did not seem to diminish, his strength alone more than enough to easily destroy every monster that stood in his path.

They did not seem to come to an end. So was his energy.

Suddenly though, the Gradmaster of Ylisse spoke up again, this time in concern, _"What the-? Irregularity towards the center of the battlefield, a female axe wielder! Sir Owain, Dame Severa, and Sir Gomer move to engage, but be cautious! Everyone else, disengage! That Undead is different!"_

He did not question the orders and simply followed her lead and ran towards the center of the battlefield, the soldier splitting to let him pass through their ranks when they recognized him.

It did not take more than a couple of minutes to reach the point that the Queen instructed him towards. And when he spotted the dangerous enemy she spoke of, Owain froze.

As Lady Robin said, the Risen was a woman. The mask was enough to confirm her origins. But that was where the similarities ended.

She stood straight, like a normal human, walking calmly with an axe big as half her body rested on her shoulder in a relaxed manner, almost mockingly at us. She had various dead corpses at her feet, but she trampled on them uncaringly, simply looking head, as if waiting for the next opponent.

Whoever she was, she had a fairly minute stature, and the other sign of distinction was her light blonde hair.

A Deadlord, he realized after a moment of staring, and worst of all, she felt familiar to him.

He felt his blood call to her. He knew her.

But that was impossible.

His stupor allowed Gomer to make the first move against the Deadlord, and shot an arrow straight for her mask. The Deadlord cut the arrow in half just when it was about to it her.

Then she moved, and suddenly her ax was blocking a furious hit from Severa's Forseti. His wife roared in defiance, her expression completely focused on the enemy, the nightmare in front of her.

He could understand her rage.

_"Let the three focus on her! Everyone else, focus on the defense of the village! Their numbers are diminishing!"_

The Tactician called out, snapping everyone around me from their funk. It was hard not to be, really. Severa was on another level in the village, everyone knew that, but that thing was keeping up with her onslaught, matching blow after blow.

She couldn't land a single hit on her.

Sir Gomer shoots another arrow towards Deadlord's back, but she simply dodged it at the last second.

Gomer tsked in disappointment at the miss and made to try another hit on her, but Owain stopped him.

"We will deal with her." He announced, catching his attention.

Sir Gomer turned his head towards Owain's direction, staring at him at his declaration. He did not answer back, he never was a man that talked much.

But Owain could feel the slight concern in his gaze.

"We will be fine. Your arrow and skills will be better to thin down those monsters." He said with a small smile while charging up an Elwind spell, a wind spell ranked in the mid-tier in his power between the various wind spells.

He would have gone for a full power Arcwind, but his wife was in the middle of the battle with the Deadlord.

And, without much more hesitation, Owain blasted a wind blade against the female Deadlord, locked in a strength contest against the redhead Hero.

The woman noticed the spell and tried to evade the surprise attack, but she was unable to because of the presence of her other foe.

That was when the blade smacked into her, the magic attack dispersing in a small tornado that engulfed her. Various cuts opened around her body and armour, but the woman did not seem to be troubled much by the new injuries.

However, the distraction created by the spell was more than enough for the Hero to smash the blunt end of her legendary axe on her face, trying to break the mask and end the confrontation once and for all.

Unfortunately, the Deadlord was more than able to not only move under the pressure of the wind but even to move fast enough to block the oncoming attack with her arm.

Something cracked, and the sadistic smile on the face of his wife was enough to tell him that it wasn't her Forseti that yielded in the contest of strength.

The Deadlord's arm limped down, broken and bent in an impossible angle. But that did not seem to deter her. With the strength of her single arm, the advanced Risen started to wildly swing her axe in an attempt to catch the Hero off guard.

It didn't work and his wife jumped back, easily avoiding the initial attack, but her smile vanished. A single line of blood appeared on her cheek caused by a scratch.

The Deadlord jumped back, almost as if in retreat, her gaze solely focused on the redhead in front of her. Severa stared her down using the opportunity to catch a bit of breath from the intense clash she just had.

That was her mistake. Green light enveloped the broken arm, and slowly under their incredulous stares, the arm started to moving erratically, bending with sickening sounds of bones and meat. She was healing herself, Owain realized with dread.

"Arcwind!" The Sage screamed in anger, summoning a miniature tornado around the Deadlord to stop her from healing herself.

Various other cuts opened up, a lot of them deep enough to kill any other lesser human, but the Deadlord remained unfazed. She did not have blood to shed.

Some of the cuts healed themselves, but the arm gripped the axe back as if nothing happened. Nevertheless, the spell did have an effect on her, catching her attention on the mage.

Putting her dead gaze on him, she suddenly stopped as if analyzing her new founded foe.

And then she screamed.

It wasn't a pleasant sound. Like all of its kind, the scream resembled something that would not be out of place in dying beast, but the subtle female tone was more than enough to give her a human resemblance.

In answer to the screech that the nightmare gave, Owain froze. His heart fell and his blood froze in his veins. Because he felt it. She recognizes him.

Somehow, someway, the monster knew him.

The second of wondering was the opening the War-Cleric needed to attack. With a burst of speed, she seemed to teleport half a meter in front of him, catching him unprepared at the sudden attack.

He cursed loudly, readying himself to endure the attack with the help of his wind tome. Sure, the tome would probably not survive the attack, but at least it would be more than enough to save the Sage from a deadly axe in his stomach.

Thankfully it did not come to that, because the female Risen suddenly fell on the ground, as if shoved heavily forward, making her lose her balance.

Owain could not help but notice an axe, Forseti, planted on the back of his enemy with his wife breathless a dozen meters behind the Deadlord.

This time, the Sage did not lose his wit and charged ahead, abandoning the wind tome upon realizing how the Deadlord was strangely resistant to magic attacks.

In a flash, he was over her, his most trusted and oldest sword, Missiletainn, closing in on the female Risen's head. The woman had only the time to raise her head before she found the legendary sword piercing through her forehead, cracking the mask.

He forced his hand and cut the mask completely, completely destroying it with a vicious and victorious smile on his face, letting the world see for the last time the true face of their enemy before her ultimate demise.

His smile dropped. His heart stopped once again, and Owain took a step back in horror when the face revealed herself.

The previous ominous red eyes common to all her kind faded, leaving a weak green shining for the last time. An elegant, pale visage and blonde hairs too similar to his own.

Owain looked in horror at the unforgotten face that he said goodbye to almost twenty years ago.

And his mother stared back, smiling kindly at him.

Her mouth opened, her eyes shining brightly, looking in hunger at his visage, trying to say something to him... but she disintegrated, leaving only dust in place of the corpse of the Third Princess of Ylisse.

"M-mother, no!" Owain screamed trying to touch her. However, it was too late.

He fell on his knees, breathing heavily and looking at the patches of grass that hold his dear departed mother. Two times, a sarcastic part of his mind supplied with venom.

Moreover, he just finished the job now.

"Owain! Are you alright?" The voice of his wife called to him from the sounds of the still raging battlefield.

He did not look up, too absorbed in his thoughts (How? Why? He should have looked harder… He could have met her again…), and refused to answer.

"We won Owain! Get up, we need to help the others! What is it!?" She asked, looming over him, short of breath.

"Mother…" He could only say in a whimper. Severa made a sound of surprise and confusion, and she kneeled in front of him. "The Deadlord… it was mother…" He tried to say again, to no avail.

The words failed him, stammering incoherently much to the redhead's confusion. "What? Owain your mother is…"

"Buried! She was buried back at home, in the sacred ground of the castle! How could she…" He stopped.

"She was buried in the castle…" He slowly repeated in understanding, the horror spreading when the memories of the last time they saw the castle came back. "And the castle fell…" He whispered again.

Severa bit her lips at his words and she inhaled, stopping the panic from spreading. She enveloped her arms around him and gently hugged him.

It was a rare occurrence. Severa was not someone that showed open, honest affection. Embarrassment and the presence of her daughter stopped her from doing so.

Owain sobbed in her arms.

And Severa could only listen to his stammering and crying while the war raged around them.

**Authors Notes:**

**Hello people, I am back with the second part of this adventure. Now, to answer some questions that may arise, I will start with the obvious. **

**Owain is more of a mage than a swordsman, but he started as a Mercenary, so he can still wield a sword.**

**The named swords and armour are not special. Owain just loves to name things. **

**The ceremony that Owain and Severa are talking about is the ceremony they used in the Drama CD. It's a bastardization of the Ceremony of Awakening, for who is in the know.**

**So what do you guys think of the new characters characterization? **

**Is Owain the right amount of annoying? Is Severa too mature? Do you think they trusted them too quickly?**

**Will Hachiman reclaim his rightful power as the Avatar of the War God of the Land of the Rising Sun?**

**We will see. See ya'**

**Taine.**

A heavy breath.

A swing of a sword.

And the sound of air being cleanly cut through.

The masked woman glared at the air in front of her, trying to keep the bulk of her emotions in check.

Anger. Frustration. Fear. Dread. Happiness.

She swung again, this time the sound of the Falchion ringing louder and clearer, creating a small wind that would have knocked back lesser foes.

And yet, her emotions didn't subside.

Again, the disguised swordswoman (the scared little girl) swung at the air in front of her.

In the eye of her mind, where normally there was a giant, terrible dragon to be slayed, there was nothing concrete.

Sometimes, it was an albino, smiling kindly at her. Sometimes, the same albino looked at her in confusion, before dismissing her as not important.

Sometimes, it was the reassuring face of a blue haired man, looking at her as just one of the masses.

But most of all, it was the cold, irritated, face of a young, black haired boy, with a frail body with rotten eyes, dismissing and destroying everything she stood for.

Taking away what she finally found back. Ripping away the possibility of happiness from her and her family.

Stealing away her mother from her.

"Yah!" She screamed, letting her anger and frustration out in the open, slashing the space in front of her for the final time.

The force of the thrust divided the air for a brief moment, but as soon as the slash created a void, the air immediately came back to where it belonged.

She panted, letting her arms rest, stopping her improvised training session.

She grimaced and shook her head in disappointment, the two figures flashing back in her mind.

Hikigaya Hachiman and… and Mother.

The two people she left at Centre. The two people that now were travelling to Plegia, the home of the Fell Dragon.

She feared for their safety… no, that was a lie. She feared for her mother's safety.

She held no love for the young man, Hikigaya.

The young Lord would never admit it out loud, will not allow herself to express the forbidden thought to the world, but she was no mere child. She would admit to herself.

She loathed the man known as Hachiman Hikigaya.

She reviled how he would laugh at her. She despised how he selfishly ignored the world around him and focused only on himself.

But, most of all, she hated how he had her mother in his grasp. How she would follow him above anything else, how she would look at him like he was her lifeline.

She hated him because he transformed her mother into something that she wasn't.

Her mother was collected. Her mother was always secure of herself. Her mother was selfless. And if her mother showed weaknesses, it was only in front of her father and her friends.

Not him.

And, worst of all, she knew that he wasn't even her enemy.

How easy would it have been if he simply was. If Grima was hidden by his side, whispering lies and plotting the end of the world.

But no, he was just a bystander. A weak, terrorized, knowledgeable, noble that gained the unbreakable loyalty of her mother.

For a small period, she had wondered why she never heard of him. The answer came immediately, after a mere moment of reflection, and it did not paint a good picture.

He died. Simple as that.

Maybe he died by bandits, maybe as a sacrifice. Maybe he could have been a Shepherd and fell on the first stages of the Plegian War.

Maybe their parents simply did not want to talk about him.

But, no matter the case, he was here now. He took her mother away from his father and took her and Sir Donnel into Plegia while leaving Ylisse without their Grandmaster. Without their Queen.

And she wasn't sure of what to do.

Her heart wanted to follow her mother. Wanted to take her away from that man and rescue her from Plegia, back from the hide of her enemy.

But her mind was telling her that helping her father was the most important thing to do now. The Shepherds lacked their Tactician, and she knew intimately how she was important for the wars.

How many times she saved the Shepherds from annihilation, how she created chances for Ylisse to turn the tides of battles and both the wars.

Father made sure of that, when he told her bedtime stories.

Without her, if nothing happened, Ylisse would be doomed. That is why she was searching for her comrades, her friends. All of them were skilled warriors in their own right, so their help would be invaluable for the Shepherds.

They could not replace her mother, no one could truly do that, but it was foolish to assume that more skilled warriors could not help the battle.

"Nice moves, mysterious stranger!" An amused voice interrupted the blue haired princess's training and thoughts, prompting the swordwoman to turn around.

Fortunately for her, her travel to Regna Ferox was fortuitous, in that regard. She may have missed the opportunity to help her father here, as she originally intended, but, at least she found someone here.

Even if he was… wrong.

A grey haired man waved smiling at her, taking slow steps towards her with apparent carefree attitude. He was… curate, if she had to describe him.

The man looked particularly careful in his appearance. His hairs, despite the misleading color, where rather thick and well cared, his armour polished and his clothes of a certain quality.

All of this was expected.

But the boy in front of her was no mere teenager as she remembered him. He was… a man.

He was taller than she remembered him, his eyes sparkling with a certainty that he lacked just mere weeks ago.

The man was well built, the muscles of the arms visible despite the clothes hiding it.

"… Inigo…", she answered back, her voice cracking for a brief moment.

The man's, Inigo's smile softened, stopping right in front of her, towering the young Lord in both height and experience, and the princess couldn't help but think that even her old friend was having similar thoughts, if probably inverse.

The time traveler couldn't help but feel... lost.

Here, in front of her, was a comrade that she had not seen in a month and was… older than her.

Where before she saw a sixteen-year-old, now stood a man older than her father, of a least twenty years of life.

"Lucina." He greeted back softly, looking at her for a moment longer, his eyes looking almost nostalgically at her minute form.

She made to reply, but she was interrupted.

Inigo slowly reached for her, enveloping her in a warm hug. Lucina flushed, her red cheeks still visible despite the mask, but well hidden by the bigger build of her friend.

The hug continued for a full two seconds, an eternity for the young girl, but eventually, Inigo detached himself from the flustered princess.

"It is good to see you again." He continued with a bigger smile. His smile only grew in intensity when the princess could only reply with some strange and incoherent noise of frustration and embarrassment, leading at a quiet chuckle to the expense of the Lord.

After a minute that Lucina used to recompose herself, the blue-haired girl finally exhaled and answered back, angry at the little scene but still relieved and happy nonetheless.

"You too… you are…", she tried to say, but the words failed her.

Fortunately, the man took care to explain the obvious, and said, "It has been five years, Lucina. It has been… difficult." He admitted lowly, much to the girl's hidden sadness.

"I see… I'm sorry." She replied, looking down and biting her lips.

"It is not your fault. Besides, I got better. I started living here three years ago, and it has been… good. I even found mother here." He reassured calmly, patting her shoulder in comfort.

The Princess of Ylisse nodded quietly, unsure on how to answer, still overwhelmed by the sheer difference between the two of them.

Her mind went into overdrive, thinking about the various possibilities that this new development would mean for her and her friends.

Five years? Then what stopped the others from being sent further back? Ten years? Twenty? A hundred?

Could she even see them again?

Panic and fear started to root in her, but the words of Naga echoed in her mind.

_You will be sent back so you could prevent this tragedy from happening again._

No. She had to trust the Goddess. She would make sure that everyone would arrive here to help.

She had to trust her. Trust and hope.

"And… how is Lady Olivia?" She asked awkwardly, trying to focus back on the present.

That was apparently the wrong thing to ask. Inigo made a strange face, a mix of embarrassment, anger, shame and happiness and, for a moment, Lucina feared that something wrong happened to her, that the Risen or the Grimleal got her, somehow.

Instead, Inigo sighed in exasperation and embarrassment, and slowly shook his head as if trying to forget something.

"She is fine." He said, and there was no mistake in the relief and happy sub tone of his voice.

"But…", he stopped, looked at her for a moment, and decided to shake his head again. "Never mind. It is complicated, and it is not that important or immediate." He said much the Princess's confusion.

She tried to press the issue. Her mother was in Plegia, following an unknown to what could possibly be her own death or capture, and if something similar happened to Lady Olivia as well…

"Besides, something is strange. I did not see Lady Robin at the tournament. Do you know something Lucina?" He asked quickly.

The swordswoman grimaced at the sudden change of argument but decided to trust her friend. If it was important, she knew he would tell her, no matter the age difference.

And with that, she started to retell her experiences.

The past changed, she reminded herself.

She just was not sure if it changed for the better.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sadly, we can't evade the plot.**

Standing above a small house at the border of the battlefield, Robin held back her tears at the scene of the eleventh man falling to the hands of the Undead.

He bled out, her mind coldly analysed despite her distress. The three clerics were too occupied to heal others at other points of the battlefield. Two which were dealing with mortal wounds that needed the healing as much as the already fallen man, she reassured herself while letting her eyes roam the battlefield to search for the minute figure of the young Villager.

It did not take much for her to find his distinctive pot, even in the sea of bodies fighting outnumbered against the Undead invasion.

Thankfully he was still in the rear, taking care with a group of six soldiers (three mages, two fire specialist and one thunder specialist, two axe wielder and a sword wielder, she listed again.) against the various groups of Undead that slipped through the main line of defence.

He was… not completely fine, she noticed. He had various cuts around his face and some parts of his garment was ripped from various hits.

He was panting slightly, the fatigue of the prolonged battle starting to catch up to him. Touching her throat, the Tactician enhanced her voice to take command once again, _"East side, start hanging back! Sir Gomer, take a small group and aid them from the sides! Donnel, fall back, support the mages!"_

Robin stopped for a moment, casting a Thunder spell to hit a particularly close Undead near her position. Being from the top of the house, she wasn't able to aim and shatter its mask but the hit did enough damage to make it stay still for a couple of moments.

Moments that were more than enough for a soldier (Rhys, her mind supplied. Farmer, amateur) to finish the job with a powerful, if shaky, swing of a bronze blade. She looked at his trembling form for a moment and made to get his attention, but another man (Ronan, smith, has moderate fighting experience) clapped him on his back and said something, probably an encouragement.

She focused back on the large battlefield to check how the battle was going. Sir Gomar had followed her orders, thankfully, and was aiding the East side, slaughtering easily with his short sword every Undead in his path, while the men he took were at least able to kill a single enemy with none or minimal injuries easily enough.

The East side had its burden released while the West was maintaining its line steadily and without major injuries. The center had the least Undead to fight, eightee- seventeen Undead left.

Robin bit her lips in frustration and scanned the battlefield once again to search for Dame Severa and Sir Owain. It was easy enough to find them, Dame Severa was just helping up Sir Owain on his feet, the two talking between themselves about something.

Sir Owain seemed to have suffered some sort of injury against the formidable Undead, because he was strangely quiet in his body language. Made sense, that thing killed six soldiers effortlessly in the span of one minute, so it could have been a difficult battle.

At least he did not seem to be in danger.

Her eyes roamed back to Donnel. He was standing still, breathing heavily. He was not fighting as of now, so he was catching his breath while checking his surroundings on high alert. Smart boy.

She couldn't help but smile softly at the scene.

He seemed tired, shaken, and scared by the events, but he still had a good head on his shoulders and he was fine. That was all that mattered to her.

"_Dame Severa, Sir Owain! Assist the West side!"_ She called out to the two strongest people of Uror. The two did not immediately answer her orders, Severa tensing for a moment and talking a bit more with her husband, but after a dozen of seconds, the two vanished from her vision.

A couple of seconds later, half of the dozen Undead dusted in sequence from the East side while a small blaze erupted, melting a group of other Undead.

Robin nodded in satisfaction. She would have preferred to split the two from each other, making Lady Severa finish the job at the center of the battlefield, but seeing how Sir Owain was injured by that strange Undead, it would be wiser to keep them together and make them do a quick job on one side. They worked perfectly together anyway.

"_Rear mages! Help finish the job in the center. Center, some of you aid Sir Gomar's group. East side, if you have nothing to do, help with the first and aid in any way you can!"_ She ordered again, and the people moved without a second of hesitation.

She exhaled in relief. Even if it was the final steps of the battle, having the soldiers following her commands was crucial to having a good strategy work.

Unfortunately, while now they followed her instructions, when she arrived it wasn't the case.

Worse, some of them followed it while others refused to do so. Which was understandable because they did not know her, but a complete nightmare to manage because it created chaos and incoordination. And incoordination could be deadly in battle.

Thankfully, around ten minutes later, everyone was on the same page and started to follow her lead. She had no idea why the sudden change of opinion, but she had did not have the will nor the time to ponder on it.

She glossed over the battle one last time, checking the status of the three zones, and the tactician nodded in relief. Everything was going as well as she could hope for from a surprise attack. They did not seem to need further instructions. She could join for the final clean up.

Hopefully, Hachiman would not know of this decision, because she was sure he would have not approved.

Decision made, she jumped off the building, its height around three meters, and without any major problem, she walked towards the first line with a last order for soldiers around there. "Stay alert. One of you must go check at the church to see how the non-combats are doing." She said.

One of the men, Rhys, nodded and started to run towards the center of the village, where the local Church of Grima was, more than happy to abandon the lines. She did not fault him for that.

Taking out her trusted thunder tome, a new favourite for a whole lot of reasons, the albino made her way onto the center of the battlefield. Of the previous seventeen Undead that she counted before, only five were remaining. This line had around ten remaining people fighting, but only six of them were actively fighting, the others too injured or tired to try and make a difference.

"Go to the cleric." She ordered the small group without looking at them, focusing on the various individual fights that were happening there.

The group was tired, she could see that, but adrenaline and training were what was keeping them fighting. She tapped her tome, and by now the extremely familiar sensation of electricity started crackling in her hand, the energy unreleased.

The various Undead stopped for a single second, a moment that the soldiers were more than able to capitalize to destroy their masks. Three of those monsters dusted out of existence, while the other two wailed in pain at the cracks on their masks.

She released the thunder spell, weaker than the one she could muster normally, but more than enough to finish off the already weakened target.

The last Undead, an axe wielder (silver axe, almost broken), quickly fell after a minute when two of two soldiers helped out the last one.

"Good job." She called out with the best smile she could muster, calling their attention. "Those who want to and could still fight can follow me to help the east side. The others go help the clerics or make a small group to check if some Undead slipped past us. We do not want surprises," she explained.

Of the six soldiers, two saluted me readily, while the others tried to reproduce the religious sign of the Following of Grima.

She solemnly bowed back and with a gesture, she dismissed the group. The two soldiers who saluted the albino followed her towards the East side of the battle, ready to help with the cleanup.

Robin guided them with a calm but stern expression, allowing her mind to wander for a brief moment to Donnel and Hachiman.

Hopefully, the two will be alright.

She had to make this quick.

* * *

Her mind raced. Her axe slaughtered. Her eyes wandered back to her husband.

And still no words came out from him.

Severa grimaced and violently cut an entire Risen in half, her blow creating a gust of wind that blasted away both enemies and allies alike.

She studiously ignored the various complaints and simply focused on killing as much as those bastards as she could. It felt good.

Those things where nothing against her now. She could allow her mind to wander in the battlefield and even if somehow, in some way, a Risen got extremely lucky and landed a hit of her, which would be next to impossible, she could not feel anything.

No damage, no pain. She was strong. She could finally protect everyone.

Yet why was her idiot of a husband so distraught? Why was the bumbling fool not boasting some stupid thing about light, darkness or whatever?

Why did he looked so defeated?

Why was the Queen travelling in Plegia without her memories and not with King Chrom? Why was Sir Donnel with her?

She had a lot of questions and not enough satisfying answers. But there were plenty of Risen where she could take her frustrations on.

Unfortunately, the targets were not as infinite as she would have liked, and her anger was far from subsided.

Owain still looked shocked by the battle with that Deadlord, her daughter was somewhere in a Grimleal church protected by Plegians and a gods damn Outrealmer, if she was to believe the claim, was the one protecting her.

She growled in anger and bisected another Risen, this time a lance wielder. She stopped for a moment, her eyes and ears scanning her surroundings to search for another puppet to lash her rage against, but she did not notice anything.

Only decisively human steps and voices. The other fighters, she assumed.

Schooling her expressions into something neutral, she relaxed and searched better around her, only to have the confirmation of the earlier assessment. The battle was over and the Risen were eradicated.

She walked towards her husband, ignoring the praise and congratulations from the other soldiers. The Sage was smiling weakly at Gomer and trying to make small talk, but it was clear for her and for him that he was just out of it.

Gomer, may the Gods bless his soul, simply decided to excuse himself when he noticed the Hero approach them, sensing that she would be the one to deal with the blonde mage.

"Owain." Severa called out to him. She internally flinched when the name came out more harshly than she wanted, but decided to press on, "Explain. What happened?" She demanded, crossing her arms.

Owain didn't even put the façade of being scared. He simply turned towards her and sighed sadly, looking as lost and confused as before.

That did not bode well. She recalled when he was in a similar state. It was when they discovered she was pregnant. That was a period she really did not want to think back on, he only returned to his normal self when Ophelia was born.

More or less. The first months of parenting were… not always fun, and let's go with that.

"After you…" Owain started to tell her, hesitating for a moment, "...After you launched Forseti on her back, I attacked her, piercing her skull and then cutting her mask."

Severa did not say anything, nodding to make him continue. She did not need to do that, however, because the Sage was already continuing to recount.

"I saw her face… Severa, it was mother." He told her quietly, much to her frustration.

She gritted her teeth and shook her head, because what he said was impossible. His mother died a long time ago, and they saw her body being buried.

"Are you sure?" Severa asked. It wasn't that she believed her husband would lie to her. It was more that she hoped that he simply got it wrong.

Because if somehow Grima got its hands on Owain's mother… nobody would have been safe. Mothers, fathers, comrades… every familiar face could be an enemy.

Unfortunately, Owain nodded back, and she knew he was sure of what he saw.

"Yes. Her face was just like the last time I remember her…" he said dejected.

"Could it not have been simply a coincidence? Or better yet, a fake?" She pressed, even if the Hero herself had already a suspicion of what his answer would be.

To her surprise though, Owain did not answer her immediately. He stood in silence, contemplating the question.

Closing his eyes, he sighed and nodded, "Yes, I am sure. I felt it… and she recognized me too."

The redhead woman nodded, her heart heavy at the reminder. She could pinpoint the moment he was referring too. Exactly when the Deadlord saw him, it reacted to him.

It was unheard off. Risen did not react to anything if not when their masks starts breaking. Having a particular reaction to a person? No, she had never heard of it.

Deadlord were even more of a mystery. They were rarer back home, and their group only met a couple of them. Each time, they were barely able to escape.

"Ok." She conceded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Ok. We will think about this. I promise. But now we have more pressing concerns." She said to him.

He slowly blinked and nodded, whispering something, "Yes, the Queen… she is here. She really is the Queen. Have you heard how she…" he comment, shaking his head in defeat.

"Yes. She really is the Queen. I can't have any doubts about it now." Severa admitted solemnly.

"But even she is not important now." Severa said. This time, Owain blinked in confusion and furrowed his brow.

Severa rolled her eyes, and sighed loudly, "Ophelia, imbecile. We have to go and check on her." The woman explained. That did the trick.

Owain straightened, his eyes immediately sharpening in realization. "You are right. We are wasting too much time. Let's move, our little chosen must want to hear about our legendary battle." He answered back, finally smiling.

Severa huffed and rolled her eyes, satisfied with the change of attitude. Oh, she knew he was faking it. He was still deep in thought about the Deadlord and Queen Robin.

And who was she to forget about his supposed disciple, that Hachiman. The Outrealmer.

Yes, the day was far from over, but at least he had his head out of the funk.

The two finally reached the main group, where the future Queen, Robin, was making all the checks and various briefings. Sir Donnel was right at her side, looking at the few, but still existing corpses, of the fallen.

He was clearly distracted, not listening to the albino talking like she caught him doing back when he was at her house. It must have been his first time seeing the deceased.

Owain noticed too, and he made to walk towards him to try to distract him, but that was when the Tactician called us out. "Sir Owain, Dame Severa. I see you two are back. I hope you two are fine? She asked with a relieved smile.

It was strange, being addressed like that from her of all people. Not only with respect, which was a hell of a Ego Booster, but that expression… it reminded her of Mother.

It was the kind of expression that she did when she talked about one of her own comrades. Especially the King and Father.

Thankfully, Owain answered for the both of them, covering her distraction and saying, "Of course, my esteemed Queen. As if we, the Master of Thousands Miracles would yield against such foul creatures. I admit, the fight was an arduous fight, but that kind of pathetic dark power is nothing against the power of our love!" He proudly proclaimed, making her wife blush in embarrassment.

She proceeded to lightly punch him at his side, and the blonde-haired person coughed in pain, making some of the group smile or outright laugh.

That idiot, he just had to ridicule themselves to cheer up the mood…

"I am glad." The albino replied simply, before turning back to face all of them.

"What about the people at the church?" she asked all of them.

Severa and Owain both listened attentively, the Hero in particular glaring at everyone in sight that should just man up and say the news.

"We are still waiting for our man to came back. What shall we do with the dead and the injured?" One of them, Severa recognized him as Ronan, an experienced soldier that was a bit younger than her, asked looking at the twelve bodies lined up at the side of the group.

Robin grimaced and took a moment to consider the question: "… we take the bodies at the church. If the injured can be moved without worsening their condition, we will move them too. Are there any other clerics?" She asked.

Ronan nodded, "Two, both of them should be at the Church. Hopefully Rhys will take them with him…"

"Milady!"

Severa turned around, hearing the panicked call, as did Robin after a moment of confusion.

It was Rhys.

Her blood froze at the sight. He was breathless and fatigued, as if he came back running. He probably did. And that would mean…

"Some Undead attacked the Church milady! We-"

"What?!" The redhead screamed, taking ample steps towards the younger man. She did not notice, but she wasn't the only one to have exclaimed that.

"Talk. How is Ophelia!" She demanded gripping the man tightly. Rhys whined in pain, and Severa realized that she wasn't controlling her strength. She immediately released him, but she did not let up her furious glare.

"Oph-. I don't know? Someone took her and escaped…"

Severa took off, Owain right at her side.

* * *

Trust.

Reliance on a person's ability, strength, or truth. It is virtually impossible for someone to not trust anyone or anything. Even I, at my worst, trusted someone or something.

I trusted my sister to be there for me when I got back home. I trusted my parents to love me even if they did not show it with all their work. Then came the Service Club, and at the start, I trusted them to be a pain in the ass and a complete waste of time.

Having said that, as of now, I did not have trust.

I did not trust Donnel's talent. I did not trust Robin's tactical mind. I did not trust the admittedly overpowered knowledge I gave Robin about electromagnetism. I especially did not trust the two parents of the little girl that was clutching fearfully at my leg.

I did not trust them to all come back alive after this fight.

However, I did trust Robin's level head to not rush and do something stupid in a fight. Unfortunately, I even trusted her bleeding heart to cast away her logical mind, and I did trust Donnel's hot headiness to simply charge to help someone in need if push comes to shove.

No, those two had too much recognizable heroic traits for them to simply not do something incredibly stupid and risky.

They needed someone to keep them grounded.

But I couldn't. Because a stupid woman had to raise a death flag and ask me to protect her only child. And I, like a complete moron, agreed and gave my word.

I groaned and looked at the other people who formed the improvised defense force. A soldier, who was now walking in a circle around the church to see if something would happen, and two other civilians that did not want to join the main fight and chose to stay behind.

All of us were equipped with the amazing amount of my lance, a sword, a stereotypical pitchfork, and, I can't believe this, a bat.

I did not know how a farmer had a bat of all things, but at least it was something.

Behind us, the gates of the church were open, allowing us to see the staggering amount of people inside it. It was a mess, obviously.

The entire village was inside there, packed like animals. It was so bad that they could hardly move, and I was almost glad that I was out here to fight instead of inside there cramped like a sardine.

Almost.

I felt a tug on my clothes and looked down to see the smiling expression of the little blonde. "M-my divine vassal, I ask thee to use your divine powers to aid your powerful teacher and my dark progenitor." She said as loudly as she could.

It wasn't much, honestly. Even the smile was clearly forced. Still, I have to give her bonus points for trying in this situation.

Even though, vassal? When have I been demoted to that? I thought I was at least a free person with them. Is it because of my inability to use magic? If that is so, you are a bully, a cute bully admittedly, so I forgive you.

"Your father is a powerful mage, and your mother is at least as strong as him." I stated as securely as I could. Because really, I did not know how good they were. Better than our ragtag group for sure, but again, we weren't that strong to begin with.

"Robin is a good tactician and Donnell is a fast learner." I continued to list, trying to assuage her fears.

"They do not need me." I concluded.

Everything I said was true. No white lie, no comfort. I would be only a bother to them. Maybe Donnel would need me, but if he followed without question Robin's lead, there should not be any problem.

Would that be enough for them to survive, however?

I did not know, but that did not mean that I should say that to an emotional and delusional child. God knows what she would do with her delusion of grandeurs.

She seemed to relax slightly, but I was sure that she still wasn't completely reassured. And I doubt I could do that. Not now, not when I too was in a similar situation.

She made to reply but I was quick in interrupting the young mage, "Go inside the church and start closing the gates. We will deal with any roaming Undead." I said forcefully.

Ophelia flinched back, probably scared by the harsher tone I used. I did not really want to use it, but the situation was probably getting to me more than I would like.

Fantastic.

"I'll accompany you." I tried to amend.

She quietly nodded, looking down as I escorted her inside. When I approached the door, the people who could see me immediately shut up their nervous chatter.

"What is it? Something happened?" A man asked as calmly as he could. Which was surprisingly a lot.

"Still nothing. The defenders are doing a good job to keep them at bay. But it would be better to close the gates and prepare for an escape route. A back door?" I asked.

He nodded quietly and immediately started to spread the word.

I did not know how well that would go with an entire village enclosed here, but at least it was something.

I turned my gaze back to the young mage who was looking at me with a strange intensity.

"Stay calm and don't panic, okay?" I murmured to her.

She hesitantly nodded and I tentatively smiled at her. I don't know how that went because she didn't seem calmer or reassured.

Nevertheless, I decided to turn my back on her and simply reached the improvised group of defenders outside the church and leave the girl with the other civilians.

That was a terrible course of action, of course, but it was leave her there or keep her with me outside. Moreover, if something happened and some Undead slipped past the defenses…

Yeah, it was better keeping her inside.

"So, what is the situation?" I asked the tanned man in front of me.

Lex smiled weakly and saluted me. Then he fumbled a bit, as if he made an error, and immediately corrected the 'mistake' with the Grimleal Sign.

Apparently, rumors spread quickly about our arrival and they recognized me as a figure of authority, being with Robin, a Grimleal Priestess.

"Nothing suspicious Sir. Those monsters are not around. The defense is doing a good job…" he trailed off, looking towards the battle.

It was loud there. So loud that even there, without the chatter of the people, we can hear the steel and the screams of the soldiers. Robin's voice overshadowed everything every couple of minutes, but what she said was not clear here.

"… I hope they will be fine…" I heard him mutter.

I ignored him. There was nothing I could do about it and I had my own thoughts to sort out.

Like, a lot of them. If I did not have to think about my companions (friends. It would be foolish to not call them that.) out there, there was the matter of going home.

And if I ignore that, it is the matter of helping Robin and Donnel.

… I wish that something would happen.

"Sir, a group of monsters are approaching us!"

I wish I was wrong! I totally want that Gold rain on us!

"There are ten of them!? What is the plan?" One of the defenders, the only soldier that remained here with us, called out in a nervous tone.

Damn it!

"Aim for the mask or the heart. They would shrug off other injuries. Pair up and alternate your hits if you can't kill it in one shot." I quickly said, trying to hide my nervousness with a grimace.

I gripped my lance tighter, taking a stance in the best possible way I could in the situation.

Which, I was proud to say, was a lot thanks to the various drills made by that rock loving ment- Focus now!

The man with the bat, the youngest of the group but still older than me by at least five years, took my side, shifting uncomfortably.

"Let's split them up!" The swordsman, Coire, screamed, charging with Lex at his side.

I gritted my teeth and followed his lead, my partner for the fight, Jun, if I recalled correctly, running faster than me, screaming desperately and in fear while doing it.

It was stupid, and I really wanted to admonish him for doing it, but I could not do that for a couple of reasons. One, it would be hypocritical, seeing how this was what I used to do every time before my short period of training.

Two, we made contact.

'Jun' swung his bat towards the first Undead at hand, an axe wielder, aiming for its head. It was actually a decent swing, from what little I could see, but, as usual, just when the bat was about to hit the mask, it found the axe cutting the swing dead.

No matter.

Tackle. Small resistance, but the enemy is on the ground. Companion hits again, this time disarming the Undead. Thrust on the mask.

Shatter.

One down.

I immediately turned towards the other Undeads, only to find out that the group of eight completely ignored them, going for the church.

It was strange.

"We killed it…" I heard someone saying, and I snapped back at the situation at hand. No matter, this works to our advantage.

"They're going for the church! Focus!" I screamed at the others.

It was useless for Coire and Lex. The two were already engaging another Undead, this time a lance wielder, looking scratch less and slightly winded.

Jun stood by my side, and that was all I needed for me to run again towards the enemy group, who was foolishly giving us their back.

More gratuitous hits, I can't complain.

I thrust again, aiming for where the heart should be. The lance pierced true, stabbing the Undead dead in the armour like a parody of a skewer. The Undead stopped in his tracks, but did not vanish.

Shit, wrong side. Heart was on the other. Take out the weapon.

Damn it, it is blocked.

The enemy turned, and I followed his movement, unwillingly to let my only weapon go with it. I stumbled around the Undead, still trying to pull the lance out of him, but when the sword wielder was fully turned, a bat on the face welcomed him.

The monster shrieked and jerked violently back, inhuman screams calling the attention of everyone and everything in the vicinity.

I almost tripped during the wail, but at the very least I successfully recovered my weapon.

The Undead started to swing the sword wildly and Jun jumped back, scared by the sudden and violent reaction.

I thrust again, this time hitting the other side of his back, piercing where the heart of the monster should be.

Dust.

I turned towards the group, only to find the remaining six Undead splitting up. Three stood in front of the wooden door of the church, and two of them raised their hands. Two went for a side of the church, the last one on the other.

Strange, but if they were split it would be better in the long run.

Then the Undead in front of the gate set the door on fire, and I quickly changed my mind.

Cursing loudly, I tried to think of a quick way to make the people inside evacuate because simply using the back door would take too much time.

Other ways…

[CRASH]

The windows! God damn it! They took over the windows!

"Follow me!" I screamed at Jun.

He seemed to want to question my sudden outburst, but it took one second to cast aside the doubt and follow my lead.

I ignored the Undead blocking the door and the screams of terror from inside, charging towards the two Undead at the sides that were trying to slowly climb over the very ample windows and slashed at one of the first in range.

I ripped some skin in the haste; I did no serious damage, missing both the mask and the heart.

The force was strong enough, thankfully, to make him fall on his back and apparently catch the attention of the other.

Irregular behavior, I noted. But that wasn't important now.

"Get out from the windows!" I screamed, trying to call the attention of the people inside.

It was chaos there, people panicking and screaming over themselves. But some of them heard me, and that was enough for them to start running towards the windows.

Other windows, obviously. They saw the monsters from these ones and decided to keep away from us.

Good.

What wasn't good was the stampede that followed the first runner.

There were other windows from this side of the building, and too much people running from them to escape the fire.

It went as well as one could expect in this situation. People started to trample and shove each other, panic started to spread an-.

I hastily dodged a wide attack from one of the two Undead, the axe almost touching my skin, and I swear I saw my life reflected in the weapon's reflection. I took some steps back; taking the distance, I needed to use the lance properly, and gritted my teeth, my eyes zeroed on the enemy.

However, my mind wandered for a brief moment, thinking of the little girl inside the church surrounded by idiots that couldn't keep their head calm and run away orderly.

And I was blocked by this piece of shit.

Tighten the grip, breath, and relax.

Charge!

I slashed, trying to behead him, but I was too slow for him and the axe effortlessly deflected the attack. Thankfully, that was not enough to disrupt my footing and sidestepped away from him, evading by a large margin another swing from the Undead.

Focus Hachiman! Make it quick!

Thrust!

Blocked. Step back, jump back, dodge!

"Gah!" A male voice screamed, followed by a thump. I could not resist my instincts and looked towards the source of the voice.

Jin was on the ground, disarmed, the Undead looming over him. But the monster didn't attack, mechanically turning towards the church.

I tried to look where he was moving to, but the brief distraction costed me.

Again.

The axe wielder jumped me and it was too late to try to dodge.

So I parried the powerful attack, sticking my lance out to intercept. It worked, the lance thankfully resisting the attack and not breaking, but the Undead was far stronger than me.

The might of the blow made me kneel, and I started a brief struggle of power, one that I knew I was going to loose if I didn't do something.

Think damn it! Fast!

"Mr. Hachiman! I'll help you!" A child, the child of that buffoon and his scary wife, called out.

I risked a glimpse and saw the little girl on the broken window, jumping down on the terrain with a look of determination of her face. The other Undead was practically at her side.

Shit, no!

In desperation, I relaxed the grip on the weapon and threw myself at my enemy; tackling it on his knees and unbalancing him, making him fall flat on his back.

I didn't even reach for the lance and tried to stand up and run for the girl in an attempt to help her.

It wasn't needed.

The girl wasn't as stupid as I thought, and immediately after she jumped, she ran towards me, easily evading the Undead and by the time I was on my feet, staying faithfully at my side.

Thank God for those small mercies.

"You god damn idiot!" I screamed her, shoving her with force behind me and make distance between her and the fallen Undead.

I reached for my lance just when the Undead started to stand up, and I made some more distance between us and the now approaching zombies.

I glanced at Jun, who was trembling still on his back, but alive, and was trying to reach for his bat, completely ignored by the two Undead.

Who were slowly walking towards us. No, not us.

Ophelia.

I bit my lip at the realization. Those thing where search- no, trying to kill this girl specifically.

Somehow, this girl was special and possibly a threat for them.

I quickly sheathed the lance and hastily took the girl in my arms, electing a cute yelp from her that went ignored.

Then I walked away, my eyes still locked on them. They were following us. They were following her.

Shit.

The two Undead jumped towards me, easily cutting the distance between us, but it was more than enough for me to dodge the assault and start running away.

I heard a loud smack, and something fell, and I risked a glance at my back.

Jun just beat down one of the two with his bat, and was promptly beating it furiously, trying to break its mask.

The other was following us with continuously brief but constant sprint that seemed to mock a very short run of half a second, completely ignoring Jun and his work.

I had the perfect bait.

So I ran faster, distancing myself from the church that was now completely on fire.

I heard Ophelia moan in displeasure at the sudden charge, and I assumed my grip was much too tight for her, but I really did not have the time or care to relax.

I ran pat the church and the other fighters, who were about to engage what I hoped were the last two Undead beside the one behind me.

I stopped for a moment, and, predictably, the two monsters sensed the presence of their maybe target.

They ignored Coire and Lex and immediately focused on the two of us.

That was more than enough for me, and I started to run away again, making distance between us and the Undead.

I turned around a random corner and quickly looked around to find something to help us. I was in a street full of houses, with some barrels and stables, but nothing came to mind.

A couple of houses were open in the panic of the evacuation.

Good enough.

I ran in the first one and immediately hid behind the wall, sitting on the floor and releasing the little mage in my arms.

She made to say something, but I shushed her with a finger, breathless from all the fighting and running. I pointed to the other side of the room, and made a gesture that I hoped would say her to simply move away.

She complied without further question.

Smart girl. Maybe you aren't only like your useless father…

I took the moments of silence to check on her and catch my breath. Ophelia was.. relatively fine. She was clearly caught up in the stampede inside the church, but she didn't seem injured. Her tunic was dirtied by dust and ash, so it would not be a stretch think that she fell a couple of times, and she sometimes winced in pain when she moved.

Probably, she was harshly shoved around in the chaos that I had created. I breathed out, guilt surging in my stomach, but I squashed it.

Yes, I could have handled the matter better, but she was fine. Alive, breathing and conscious. Now we had to survive this.

Then the healing.

Heavy, irregular steps hurried outside, interrupting my thoughts and making Ophelia gasp loudly.

I gritted my teeth and sheathed the lance, slowly rising from my position, breathing slowly to not make me too noticeable.

Hell, would those thing even hear? See? Smell? I knew they probably track Ophelia, probably by life-force or something…

Questions for later.

Predictably, the steps stopped for a dozen of moments. Then, slowly, like a C-Rate horror movie, they slowly started to close in on us.

I would like to say that this shitty horror development was exasperating me, but that would be a lie, and I was extremely close to pissing myself out of fear. Ok, no, not that much, but I felt the tension and I had a new appreciation for all those anime and novel characters in those kind of situations.

I swear I will not roll my eyes anymore!

A shadow loomed on the doorstep. That was my cue to take action.

I forcefully stabbed the floor in front of the entrance, obstructing it, and, thankfully, that was when the Undead was crossing the threshold.

The Undead tripped and fell onto the floor, its hands occupied by its own weapon to really try and stop the fall and I used the opportunity that I created.

I screamed and impaled it in the back of the neck, the only immediate part that was without any armour, and then forced to cut through it and decapitate the monster.

Beheaded, the Undead dusted in black ashes, vanishing completely. And I allowed myself to relax.

Big error.

Ophelia screamed and I immediately looked up and reached for her, only for something to pierce my shoulder from behind.

I screamed in pain, gripping my lance and stumbling forwards, almost falling on the floor.

I didn't even had the time to curse in my head because I had to throw myself away from another attack from the second Undead that reached the home.

I felt the blood leaving my body and dropping, but I was too focused on the Undead in front of me, who readied the spear and took a stance, ready for battle.

I growled in anger and pain, glaring at it, and accepted the challenge.

I thrust forward, trying to pierce it on its hand, but the Undead swiftly deflected and counterattacked with a faster and more precise thrust towards my heart.

I barely avoided the attack and tried to take some steps back to gain distance. I barely made two steps before founding myself with my back on the wall.

Close space, house, I remembered.

I cursed and dodged a dangerous slash that could have bisected me in half, and answered in kind, only to have the attack effortlessly blocked with a fluid motion.

This bastard was better with the lance than me, I concluded.

Not only that, but I was in an enclosed space and couldn't gain distance to think.

Case in point, the thing used the moment of breath that I was taking to press on and try to shish kebab me.

I tried to dodge, but this time I took some damage, the steel scratching my side and breaking the armour with the strength of the Undead behind me.

I flinched at the sudden pain, but wasn't even allowed that luxury, because the monster slashed again.

I took a step back, but it was useless.

This time, it hit.

Bypassing the armour, the undead opened a wound across my chest.

I screamed, the pain far sharper and consistent than ever before, and I let the lance go from my grip, falling on my knees.

My hands reached for the wide wound, trying to stop the flow of blood, but obviously nothing happened, and the only thing accomplished was dirtying my hands with my own blood.

A part of me analysed that the wound should be only superficial, because there was no way I was able to be conscious if it was otherwise.

But then again, maybe the pain was making impossible for me to simply lose consciousness and die while passed out…

I heard a scream, female, child, Ophelia. Shit. Her.

Fuck. Damn it. God fucking no!

I rolled away, and I heard a loud thud.

Don't care. Don't give a fuck. I looked at the Undead, who was trying to end my life, looking at me impassively. I growled in anger.

No. Hell no. Not on your not life or whatever the fuck you are, living or not living. I don't care.

I searched with my hand for something, anything to help us.

I gripped something. That something was more than enough for me, and threw it.

It was a chair. The chair simply slide between me and the Unded. It stopped for a brief moment.

I didn't care, because I jumped on my feet, took the chair with both my hands, and smashed it against the Undead, making it scramble on its back.

I violently threw myself at it with another scream (chocked, pathetic, dying…) using my weight to try to keep it down.

Then I punched its mask. The mask cracked, and the monster howled in pain, thrashing violently to try to keep me away.

I was way more desperate than it though.

I punched the mask again, this time weaker than before because all of the struggling, but it seemed to do the trick.

Another inhuman scream. Another punch. Scream, shoving, punch.

And again.

And again.

And again.

I punched the floor. Floor and dust.

The impact made me hiss in pain, my breath coming short from all the fatigue and the pain, and I fell flat on the floor.

I winced and chocked a scream of pain, the fresh wound meeting the cold floor of the house.

"Ophelia…" I called weakly, trying to roll my body. I heard the little girl's hurried steps approaching me, just when I succeeded in being supine.

A face hovered in front of me, but it was blurry, almost a shadow. I heard something from her, maybe a cry, but I could not understand much in the state I was in.

"Cloth…" I called out. I wasn't sure how she perceived it, but at least she seemed to understand something, because she hurried towards another room.

Shit, she is alone. Another monster could appear…

I tried to stand up. It took a full minute, just in the time for a blur to come back in front of me with something in her hands.

I took it.

Long. Smooth. Maybe a something to block the blood from flowing out…

I tried to bandage me. But the movement were sluggish and unfocused.

The blur, Ophelia, understanding what I wanted to do, helped me, and I found myself after a minute of struggling with an amateurish bandage done by… something.

I wasn't sure.

"Let's mo-move." I said, walking towards the exit with my lance in one hand.

Ophelia answered something in return and took my free hand, guiding me towards the exit.

Cute and smart, just like Komachi at her age. God, she will be a catch when she grows up. I hope that her delusional father will have the good sense to blast away every idiot that tried his luck with her.

If he didn't, I really should have to step in and… dissuade the worms.

Maybe violently.

The thought of worms made me think back of a particular insect always buzzing around my cute little sister.

Yeah, I had some things to do back home. Must come back soon. That absent father of mine would let the insect grow on Komachi and then we wouldn't be able do anything to keep him away.

I heard some screams and some figures approached us. I immediately left Ophelia 's hand and took a stance in front of her with a low growl.

The young mage instead ran towards them calling out in panic. Maybe crying.

Allies? Probably.

I left the stance and slowly walked towards. Other calls. I didn't understand them, so I simply stared off.

A red spot. Dirty yellow. White. Black.

I grimaced.

Then the white stain (Robin?) crashed into me, hugging tightly my body and whispering something.

I cursed.

Then I blacked out.

* * *

Waking up after passing out is not that much different from simply waking up after a night of sleep.

The only difference is a general dizziness and a loss of sense of time and space around you. You barely recognize anything.

And after you realize that you really don't know where you are, a person could understandably and completely naturally panic and stand up brusquely.

That is an error.

Because apparently after losing a good amount of blood, movement, especially something so sharp, is not really recommended. Who knew, right?

My head ached and my vision swayed for a good dozen of seconds before finally settling and allowing me to finally study my surroundings.

First off, I wasn't on the floor. Or outside, really. I was in a bed, a fairly big one, maybe for two if I had to guess. A coupled bed then.

That meant that I was inside a house. Which one though was a mystery. Moreover, I had to understand what happened to Robin and Donnel.

"Mr. Hachiman!" A young voice screamed out, before I felt two tiny arms around me, gripping as strongly as a child could.

Which, for my injured body, was more than strong enough to cause pain. I hissed and flinched, looking down at the small blonde figure that I almost sacrificed my life for.

Ophelia.

She was fine, good.

"Ophelia. Where are we?" I asked as softly as I could, trying to not set her emotions off.

Obviously, I failed, because she immediately started crying on me.

The sight was strangely nostalgic, in a way. Years ago, Komachi used to come like this when she had a bad day at school.

I would pat her head slowly and massage her back, as I was doing now with the girl who definitely wasn't my sister.

I am sure she would not detract too much Komachi points, giving the situation at hand. Thank you, sis. I know you will understand.

It took a couple of minutes for her to finally calm down and stop sobbing. All along, I waited patiently for her to let out her emotions. On me.

Shouldn't she be with her parents?

As if summoned by my thoughts, the door of the room opened, and a red-headed woman entered in a hurry with a grimace. It took a moment to recognize the face of Mrs. Severa.

When she saw me, or better yet, her daughter, she visibly relaxed and allowed herself to sigh in relief and smile softly.

"I see you are awake, Hachiman." She stated after a moment, taking small steps towards the two of us.

I raised my eyebrows at the sudden change of address. Only first name? You guys are way too familiar with strangers.

"Yes. Just now. What happened?" I asked, stopping the patting of the young girl. Strangely, she didn't detach herself from me, choosing to remain on my stomach.

Mrs. Severa crossed her arms, smirking slightly, "We took your dead weight body after you passed out at our home after Owain healed you. You should be thankful." She said haughtily.

I grimaced, feeling a vein pop on my forehead and made to reply with a very witty remark that I had planned for this kind of situation. Unfortunately, the redhead didn't gave me the chance, because she wiped the smirk of her face and added, "You were unconscious for ten hours. Owain and the others are in the living room." She said.

I exhaled in relief when I heard that. Everyone was fine. They were alive, and apparently I was the only one with major injuries.

That was good. Well, not really, I could do without the injuries, but at least I was alive. That was more than I could have asked for, in this shitty world.

"Thank you." Mrs. Severa suddenly said. I blinked and looked back at her. Surprisingly, she was right in front of me, putting lightly her hand of my shoulder. What was more, she was even smiling slightly at me, actually showing gratitude and concern.

"Ophelia told us everything. You protected and saved her. Thank you." She repeated softly.

I was stunned. That was… heartfelt. It was rare hearing this kind of statement, and I especially did not expect to hear it from her. Maybe from Owain, I could imagine it, but I did not think she had the best of impression of me.

"It's fine." Was all I could weakly reply.

The Hero sighed and shook her head, the previous emotional expression turning back in something more calm and severe.

"You are her hero, you know." She added. This time, while soft, her tone carried a bit of exasperation at the admission. She walked towards her daughter and made to take her, but moved back with another sigh.

I blinked and looked down at the girl in my lap.

I heard soft and regular breathing from the young mage and I realized that she fell asleep in this position.

"I can understand it, you did fight desperately in front of her and defeated the Risen. I only wish she would look up to… better people… first her father and now you…" she commented with a roll of her eyes.

Despite the harsh words, I could not hold back a snort of amusement at the snipe.

"Well, excuse me. I'll try to make my next fight for my life less desperate." I replied, half-jokingly and half-serious. Because really, even I would prefer a curb stomp than a barely caught victory like that one.

Mrs. Severa smiled back, and this time took her daughter out of my lap with a more decisive movement. "You better do. Or at least, keep it away from my daughter. I doubt an amateur like you could do that anytime soon."

I grimaced at her words, the strange behaviour of the Undead, or Risen as she called it, coming back on my mind.

"… they were aiming for her." I said. That immediately turned the Hero serious, stopping her in her track from going out of her room. I practically heard her teeth grinding against each other, and I could only imagine the terrified expression that she had now.

I was thankful that she was giving me her back. I would probably piss myself from the sight. Scary mothers are scary, after all.

"… I see…" she simply answered back, before exiting the room with a more heavy and urgent step. She didn't even close the door.

I laid down on the bed, fully intended to go back to sleep after the conversation and rest a bit more after that stupid fight, only to hear hurried steps from outside the room.

I sighed, already expecting who was coming in and saying goodbye to my short-lived desire of rest.

Sure enough, Robin and Donnel stormed the room, the two smiling brightly at the sight of my awakened form. I had no idea why they looked so happy. I probably looked like shit.

Robin was the first to stand at my side, Donnel following her half a second later.

"You are awake!" The Tactician exclaimed with joy, almost throwing herself on me for a hug. She stopped halfway, realizing the situation with my injuries, but that did not seem to stop her enthusiasm.

"I'm glad sir. We feared you'd never wake up." Donnel added weakly, looking down. He was relieved, that I could tell, but there was something else. Fear or shame, I wasn't sure. Nevertheless, I really wasn't in the mood to search for it.

"'Tis but a scratch." I replied with a smirk. It was a joke, obviously, but I was satisfied that I could finally use that phrase in the right context. Chances like that did not come often back home.

I guess that would be a perk of this world. A shitty benefit that I could live without, but a perk nonetheless. See the bright side and all the jazz.

"That was really close…" Robin commented with a grimace, sitting on the bed without touching me while Donnel took her right side in front of me.

I sighed. "Yeah, it was… how did things go on your side?" I asked quickly, unwilling to talk about it.

Thankfully Robin caught up on my discomfort on the subject and allowed the change, and she started to explain the events from her point of view.

"It went… fairly well, I guess. We lost no more than a dozen of men in the wave. The majority of which were killed in under a minute by the Deadlord."

I grimaced at the news and my stomach twisted in fear. For a moment, the image of my own hands tinted in my blood flashed back, making me want to puke, but I quickly tried to suppress it.

Hoping that I did not show it on my face, I latched at the new name that Robin threw in the mix, even if I had a good guess on what kind of answer I will have. "Deadlord?"

Robin nodded, her eyes focusing on an image far behind me. She furrowed her brow and answered coldly, "Yeah. She appeared when we had the wave under control and started maiming the closest fighter in seconds. Thankfully, Sir Owain and Dame Severa were there to kill her before she could do more damage."

Her eyes focused again on me, her lips pursed in concern. "She was different from the other Undeads, Hachiman. For one, her gender was clearly identifiable, and her armour was far superior of the others. And the way she moved… she was more human. If it wasn't for the mask and the fact that she dusted like all her kind after being killed, I would think she was the person who summoned them." She predictably said with a small voice while absentmindedly laying her hand on my own.

I noticed the gesture, of course, and I briefly debated if I should take my hand out or not. The decision was taken from me because she did so herself after a couple of seconds.

"Sir Owain decided to call her that after the fight. He recognized her, Hachiman. It seems that whoever is using them is really using the dead as you said." She concluded with a small smile. It wasn't exactly happy, but she had that grim edge of satisfaction of when you wished you weren't.

I couldn't completely relate to the sentiment, because on the contrary, I never had much doubt on the nature of those monsters. Too much similar to my own version. They were zombies, plain and simple. Even if called in any other way, being Undead or Risen, it would have changed little. Still, I could see how disheartening it was to know that your ancestors were out to kill you.

Whoever came out with this spell clearly had no respect for the dead and the past.

"I see. It is a good name as any. It is bad that they found a way to perfect the resurrection though." I simply commented with a grimace. A resurrection that could create Undead stronger than the general mook… why is this the first time we've see that? If they aim for world conquest or whatever, they should have used those.

Maybe it took too much to create?

Maybe. We can't know for sure.

"Hachiman, I think we should tell this to Lady Emmeryn. Do you think we should send a letter?" She asked. At the name of the Exalt, Donnel immediately perked up in surprise.

I nodded, "Yes, that would be ideal. You can even ask about the Rite for contact Naga. And we should probably contact the ruler of Plegia too." I added. Honestly, I wasn't sure if the letter would reach the destination, especially the Plegian King, but it was something that they could at least try.

Robin nodded, and Donnel looked at us in surprise. Nevertheless, after a moment, he gave his determined affirmation too, his eyes burning with a strange fire.

"What about Regna Ferox sir?" He asked.

Oh yeah, the third kingdom of this land. I forgot about them. They didn't come out often in the conversations.

"Yes, them too." Robin confirmed, biting her lips. She scratched her chin and stood up, walking towards a desk on the side of the room muttering something that we could not discern.

She then immediately proceeded to take paper and ink from the table and start writing what I supposed was the said letters.

I snorted and shook my head in exasperation at her focus. She didn't even ask the owners of the house if she could use it. She could be pretty rude when she was like this. She needed someone to point it out for her.

Alas, today that man will not be me. I hope that that buffoon and Mrs. Severa would understand.

I turned to the boy, and we stood for a minute in silence. He seemed fine, she did not show any kind of injuries on his person, but healing magic was a thing here, so I could not be sure.

"And you Donnel? You weren't too much injured right? Did you follow Robin's instructions?" I asked the boy, deciding to ignore the woman in favour of checking the younger boy.

His expression immediately darkened at the question. Well then. Something was off.

He made to talk, but stopped in hesitation, looking at me with a saddened expression. He pursed his lips and trembled for a moment.

I simply continued to stare, waiting for his decision. Whatever it would be, I would accept it, and I did not intend to pressure him in ans-

"I… Lady Robin ordered me to fight in the rear. Just in case some monsters broke the line, ya know?" He said lowly, looking saddened. Never mind then, he was talking.

"I did that. Some Undead arrived, but nothing much. We killed them very easily." He continued to say, looking down.

"… then I pushed forwards a bit. To see the battle, how it was goin'." He stopped and closed himself, breathing deeply.

"I saw the injured…" he finished lamely.

And honestly, I could understand what he meant by that. Battle injuries are not a pretty sight. It wasn't like a clean cut or a simple broken bone. They were messy, gruesome.

"Some of them're already d-dead. Others died after a bit…", he stopped and looked away.

"Pa' told me that people die fightin' but… it's…", he said something, but I could not understand what he told. Maybe because no sound came out of his mouth.

After that, he did not say anything else. He stood in silence, waiting for… something. An answer, probably. From me.

It was absurd.

I was the least qualified person to come and ask for this kind of thing. Why didn't he ask to Robin? Mrs. Severa? Hell, even that sad excuse of a father could have been a better choice then me!

But no, he choose me. Because it was his choice. I wasn't naïve enough to not think that at least Robin did not ask Donnel the same question, only for him to dismiss her concern.

Unfortunately, he talked with me and as such, I had to deal with this.

I glanced back at Robin who seemed to be conveniently too wrapped in her task to pay attention to us and help me with this however she could.

Therefore, I had to deal with this alone.

Fantastic.

I furrowed my brow and started to think. What should I do? How to approach this? Comfort him? That was a given. In what way? Honeyed words would be the best course of action, obviously, but I wasn't sure he would accept them.

Donnel may be young, but he wasn't a kid like Ophelia, who simply accepted the words of the people without much thought, especially in such a big event like this. He wasn't that naïve.

Then what was the alternative?

"Sit here." I suddenly called him.

Donnel snapped his attention back to me, his eyes widening for a moment in surprise, but he followed my order and sat on the bed, close to me.

I breathed deeply and slowly, I let the words came out.

"I've never been in this kind of situation before. Death was something completely foreign to me before… all of this." I admitted lowly, making sure that only the villager would hear me.

Donnel nodded, his gaze lowering again in discomfort at the truth I just admitted.

"I could tell you that now they are in a better place, right beside Naga, or in their case Grima, if they believed. I could tell you that they died protecting their loved ones so they could have died satisfied with themselves, without regrets." I continued, regaining his full attention.

"I would be lying." At that, Donnel was… not much surprised, but it had the effect of making him gloomier. "At least, that would not be the entire truth." I quickly amended, trying to not worsen his condition.

"While it is true that they died for their loved ones, it would be unfair for them to say that they died without regret. Every person has a desire, a dream, an objective, and the moment they left us was the moment that they could not chase and realize it."

Donnel nodded slowly, his eyes still dark at my words.

"Other than that, the people they protected are hurt anyway. They lost them their loved ones. Their fathers and mothers lost a son. A child lost a father, a wife a husband. And nobody is going to replace them."

My mind flashed back at the people at home, where I suddenly disappeared. Were they searching for me? Certainly. Did they think of me dead? I did not know. Were they grieving my loss?

I wasn't stupid enough to think that my life was meaningless to them. Not anymore. Not to my family, and not to Yukinoshita. Not to Yuigahama, not to Prof. Hiratsuka. Not to Saika, not to Zaimokuza and not to Iroha.

Yes. I had to go back. They were waiting. All of them.

"Death has no meaning. It just is. Everyone and everything dies. The people, the animals, the plants… everything. Maybe it is the project of some higher being. Maybe not. Whatever the case, it doesn't make the suffering that left behind meaningless."

I breathed out, catching my breath. All of this talking was exhausting, in more ways than one.

"The point that I'm trying to make is that… people died. I do not think there is a true way to honour them. Even remembering them would be pointless, because the best outcome would have been for them to survive the fight. But they didn't. And despair for them would just ruin us."

I grimaced. Was I doing this right? I did not think so. Everything I was saying was negative stuff that may or may not fly over the head of the lance wielder.

"What can I say you now is that every life is precious Donnel. Maybe not for us, but there always be people who will morn them. And what you have to understand is that your life is just as precious as theirs. It is horrible that they died. But that doesn't have to stop you from living. Because if you stop… who will replace you?" I finished.

Donnel gulped, and looked at me with a strange gaze. I couldn't exactly place it, it did not give me a bad vibe, but neither a good one.

"I… I don't think I get all of that, Sir." Donnel slowly admitted with a small, sad smile.

I sighed and almost slumped in disappointment. Of course he didn't. How silly of me.

"But I did understand that dying will make Ma' and Pa' suffer. And that I need to get stronger to not let them suffer. I need to value my life. Because others do the same." He concluded, his gaze steeling.

It was clear that he wasn't over it. But my speech did something to his spirit, apparently it revived it. It would have done the same in time probably, but it was good to see him like that.

"I don't like seeing people suffer, Sir." Donnel admitted.

I nodded, because that was something that I could understand, in a way. I was weak to the suffering of others, the people I had in front of me.

"You can't save everyone Donnel." I said him.

The pot-wearing boy made to protest, but he stopped. He looked conflicted for a moment, but then his inner turmoil quelled.

"I know." He said. "I… need to think, Sir. Thanks." He added, sitting up and giving a slight and formal bow.

I nodded, giving him my acknowledgement and permission to leave.

And with that, Donnel got out of the room, looking contemplative about the whole ordeal, and leaving myself only with a super focused Robin and my inner thoughts, wondering if I did the right thing today.

* * *

It took a full day for me to recover.

Well no, that was a lie. In truth, it took just another hour after my talk with Donnel for me to have a full recovery of my physical capabilities.

I did prefer to stay inside the house, instead of checking the village with the others though. I did still feel exhausted after waking up, even if I did not have any injuries that hindered my movement.

All I had was an admittedly shonen-esque and cool-looking scar across my chest as a reminder of my first and, hopefully, last close-to-death experience.

Thankfully, all I had to do to keep it hidden was wearing something like a simple t-shirt, and nobody would know of it back home.

On the bright side, Ophelia seemed to like the scar, saying something about now being blood-bound to one another and me being her familiar or something like that, even if I was reasonably sure she does that to keep her guilt in check.

She wasn't good at keeping her emotions hidden, and the various blank stares that she gave me when she thought I wasn't looking were expressive enough.

Her parents did their best to keep her mind out of it, with her worthless father tasking her to name my lance and my equipment or her mother generally keeping her busy between some form of minor training and playing with her.

Alas, having my first near-death experience wasn't only all perks and child magnets.

Oh wait, a scar wasn't a perk. As expected, a fight to the death was simply horrible and I really did a perfect job in evading allying myself with Ylisse and joining an elite force. Good job past Hachiman.

I can feel your smug from here. I can't really fault you.

Wait, were was I? Oh yes, the consequences of the fight.

Robin was now practically attached to my hip, refusing to leave my side for more than two minutes and never without a longer distance of three meters.

She was subtle about it, never making a scene, but I caught her hesitating when she was told that she would sleep in another room that night, I figured out what was happening with her from that.

Thankfully, she did not protest and simply accepted the disposition, probably because she trusted the family enough with my safety, but that she simply thought about sharing a room and sleeping together was worrying nevertheless.

Donnel had a similar problem, even if it wasn't that bad. He did take the time to play with Ophelia or train by himself that day.

The only good thing that came out of the whole ordeal was that Mrs. Severa was more trusting towards me and less dubious about my origins. Or maybe towards my intentions, and simply believed I was nuts.

I did appreciate the fact that she did not say it aloud.

The blonde mage, Owain, did not change much. If nothing less, he became even more enthusiastic with his interactions with me, and even took the initiative to supervise me in my magic training when he came back after a meeting for the reconstructions of the village.

Basically, he became even more nerve-racking than before, which was a feat that I did not believe it was possible.

Congratulations Zaimokuza, you are now only the second most annoying person I ever knew. Good for you. Now, if you would stop writing shitty copy-paste light novels and start writing something original, you would became only as annoying as any other person.

"So, what do you think?" Robin asked from the seat at my side, pulling me out of my musings.

I glanced at the table and at the semi-comprehensible writing on three papers and thought about what she read aloud.

"Seems alright to me." I approved simply. She smiled in relief and left them on the table, slumping into the chair.

"That's good. I hope that the new information would be useful for Lady Emmeryn and Chrom. Even if it isn't anything much." She said.

I stared for a moment in silence, before answering, "We confirmed what kind of threat we are facing, and we know that, whoever is behind this, is probably unaffiliated to Plegia. I doubt they would attack their own village if they were. Plus, we are telling them of a new type of Undead, more dangerous than the common type, so I am sure that would help them and keep their guard up."

From the other side of the table, Owain gave a self-absorbed nod, giving himself the air of a wise sage, while Mrs. Severa replied, "Hachiman is right, Lady Robin. I am sure the Exalt and the Prince would use the information wisely. They better be." She added at the end with a not-so-low whisper.

Owain laughed at his wife's threat to royalty and said, "The chosen of Naga are a strong breed! We shall trust their judgment, as always we have done through history. The Goddess will guide every step of their way, leading the world into a new age of prosperity."

I sighed and didn't even bother to snark in my mind at his speech, and decided to pose the immediate question, "Now, we only have to find a way to give the letters to the Rulers of those reigns. Which would be… difficult. I doubt they read every letter the castle receives."

The two parents exchanged a look between themselves, the red-head woman rising her eyebrow in contemplation and surprise, "So you did write a letter without knowing how to send it to the recipients?" She asked, smirking in amusement. "And here I thought that you two had a plan. I seem to have overestimated you…", she commented with a loud and theatrical sigh.

"But do not fear my sharp apprentice!" Owain interjected before I could retort at the jab, "For your wise master has a solution for your problem! Just leave it to me, and our vital information would reach the Exalt in mere days, nay, hours!" He exclaimed proudly.

I blinked at the declaration, and simply decided to ignore all the theatrics. It was difficult, but after a day, I was getting the hang of it.

At least hanging around that fatso was useful to something. I can see him evolve from trash to useful trash.

"Thanks." I simply said. "How will you do it?" I asked curiously.

Owain smirked, projecting an air of superiority, and, extending his hand, he declared, "Do not fear, student, because your master will show you his secret! However, know that the sacrifice needed for this dangerous ritual is nothing short of debilitating! You must be ready to risk everything for accomplishing it!"

Before I could even elaborate an answer at the admittedly scary and ominous declaration, his wife sighed and shook her head, giving him a swift slap on his head.

"Do not worry, it is nothing dangerous. This idiot is only exaggerating, as always. It would be a costly service, but we can cover it. The Annas are not cheap, especially if you ask for this kind of extra services. But forget that for now. Tell me what do you guys intend to do." She asked with a serious expression.

I blinked at the sudden change of topic, but dismissed it, now knowing the ritual that the Sage was talking about was nothing dangerous.

Robin took the initiative and started to explain for the both of us, "Seeing how Hachiman has recovered from his wound, we would like to start travelling again. We… I… need to go to Gimli. Maybe I will find something about my family there." She explained, her eyes shining in determination.

Mrs. Severa raised her eyebrow at the news, and commented offhandedly, "You will need more supplies then. I saw what you have, and you cannot travel the desert without a tent, more water, and more food. Like hell I will let me and my daughter travel without those."

I grimaced at the analysis and nodded, if a bit annoyed. "You're right…. Wait, what do you mean you and your daughter?" I immediately asked when the rest of the sentence registered.

Mrs. Severa scoffed, but it was Owain that answered for the both of them "Foolish apprentice. Do you think our bond would allow us to simply split in our separate ways? You are but a seed for us to nourish. Of course we will come with you in your epic quest." He said.

I bit back the immediate impulse of shooting down the offer and thought about what it would entail. On one hand, Mrs. Severa and Owain were strong. Freakishly strong, judging by what Robin told me of the battle. Having them with us would guarantee us a major chance in case of attack. Moreover, if Owain actually came with us, I could have a steady teacher that would teach me magic, which was good.

On the other hand…

"No." My musing was cut, once again, by Robin's voice of all people. I stared. So did the other two.

"Make no mistake, you two are strong. Having you two with us would be an immense help in case of fighting." She started to explain coldly, her sharp gaze focusing on the two parents in front of her.

The Hero grit her teeth at the refusal, her body tense and her hand gripping tightly the table, while Owain gulped, seemingly scared by the refusal.

"But Ophelia is a hindrance to us." She mercilessly said.

"We can protect her!" The redhead mother exploded in anger. Leaning aggressively towards the albino.

"She is a bait for the Undead. It is not a stretch to think that the Deadlord came just for her. No, she would be in danger travelling with us." She replied without backing down, glaring at the older woman without fear.

Everyone read the subtext of that statement. She would be a danger to the entire group and, more importantly, to me. I had no illusion that the major point that pushed her to refuse was my injury in the fight.

A bait would put me in more danger than she would like, and she didn't trust herself or them enough to protect me. It was irritating, being seen as someone this weak and needy, but the logical part of me could not help but agree at the statement.

Mrs. Severa flinched back at the cold tone that the Tactician used, and tried to argue, "You are right, but it is too dangerous for her to live here too. We need to start travelling."

Robin did not react at the hidden plea of the woman, closing her eyes for a brief moment. Reading herself, in a way. "If the choice is between keeping your daughter safer and risking Hachiman's and Donnel's safety… no. You will not come with us." She repeated, her voice cracking for a brief moment.

Both parents actually recoiled as if hit in the face at the statement, and looked in horror at the stone-faced expression of the woman.

"But… we need to come with you…", the Hero blabbed out in a whisper, much to my confusion.

"Why?" I asked, catching the attention of the group of me. "Why us? You are strong enough to travel alone, and if you really wanted to travel with someone else, you can join others along the way, they would accept you easily with your strength." I said them.

"So, why us?" I repeated.

Severa was the first to react, and she answered hotly, "That is none of your business!"

She immediately realized that actually yes, it was, and crossed her arms in defiance, looking away.

Owain was the one that, until now, did not talk much. He had his eyes closed in contemplation, thinking about something. Then he opened it and, without much fanfare, he said.

"Ophelia is not the only one they are after. The Risen are probably after me too." He explained calmly.

I blinked in surprise, as did Robin and her wife.

"It is probably because of this." He continued, rolling up the sleeve of his left arm. After a couple of moments, both I and Robin could see a familiar symbol on his arm.

"The Mark of Naga…" Robin whispered to herself with wide eyes, while Severa sighed in defeat at her husband actions. "So Ophelia is…" Robin continued, looking towards the windows, where we could barely see both Ophelia and Donnel playing outside.

"Yes, she is a descendant of the Exalt Line." Mrs. Severa confirmed, and my mind went in overdrive, thinking about the ramification of the new discovery.

So, whoever controlled the Risen was after the Exalt line, so a group who has a grudge against them. The obvious answer would be the Grimleals, but we could not jump to that conclusion yet.

Looking at Owain, he seemed older than Emmeryn, if only a couple of years. Could he be her older brother? A illegitimate? Improbable, not with the age gap between him and Lissa. It was too big. It could be possible, but it was highly unlikely. So…

"A cousin then." I concluded with a satisfied nod to myself.

"Yes." Severa immediately replied, confirming my assumption.

"No." the blonde-haired person denied a moment later while hiding the Brand from the sight again.

I blinked and raised an eyebrow at the dismissal, while the Hero gasped and glared at the Sage.

"Owain…", she growled in anger, the threat plain to everyone to see.

"Severa." The Sage replied nonplussed, looking back at her calmly and strangely unafraid.

The two continued the staring contest for a full minute, but in the end it was the redhead who admitted defeat first, diverting the gaze.

"Fine!" She spat. "Just do not came crying back when they run away."

Owain smiled at his wife and turned his head back to us, while we were waiting an answer, I curious while Robin confused.

"I am not Uncle Chrom's cousin. My name is Owain, and I am Princess Lissa's son. Me and my wife came from the future."

Say what now?

Robin opened her mouth to reply, but the only thing that got out of her was a gasp of shock and nothing else.

I briefly considered calling bullshit on that explanation, but I thought better. I was a dimensional traveler, zombies were falling out of the sky, and magic was a thing that I was learning. Time traveler wasn't much of a stretch.

"So wait, that Deadlord was..." Robin made to say, only for the blonde and apparently prince of Ylisse to interrupt her and reply,

"My mother Lissa, yes."

"So she is dead… but she was fine last time!" Robin protested loudly.

I groaned, and hid my face with my hand, nursing an headache that was coming at full force at the sound of all of this bullshit.

"Not her. The Deadlord was probably her future version." I corrected, annoyed.

I thought I was out of the plot! Why here? Shouldn't they be around their parents? Why were they so fixated with us? No, not us. Robin.

Was Robin important in some way?

"Let's say I believe you." I said to him, calling the group attention on me again while looking up. "Explain why would we need to care." I snapped, irritated.

Owain nodded slowly, evidently relieved of the trust I was putting in him.

"Yes. Back in our time, the world was in an horrible state. And all of it started because of Grima." He growled the last name with uncharacteristic venom.

"The Grimleal resurrected Grima, corrupting one of the trusted allies of Uncle Chrom, and killed him and Lady Robin. That was when everything started to fall to pieces. Grima destroyed everything! Ylisse, Plegia, Regna Ferox, Valm! Nothing survived him. Humanity was practically extinct, and with everyone dead, a new Risen was added to that monsters army!" He told us, painting the nightmarish situation that I had expected from the tale.

I did not show any surprise at the tale, contrary to my companion who was clearly affected by it.

"So I was with Chrom and the Shepherds?" Robin asked quietly, shaking.

I placed a hand on her shoulder and she breathed out, calming herself immediately.

"Yes." Owain confirmed. "You were Ylisse's Grandmaster and…", he hesitated for a moment, before continuing, ".. and their Chief Tactician. You guided Ylisse and won the previous wars with little casualties." He explained with an excited grin, his eyes wandering somewhere that we could not comprehend.

Wars, I noted. Plural. Fantastic, we were at the edge of not one, but at least two, wars. I was so glad that I was away from Ylisse.

"What about Hachiman? What about Donnel?" Robin asked.

Owain paused for a moment. "Sir Donnel would have joined the Shepherds. He would have been one of their strongest members, his talent immediately distinguishing him between his peers. Sir Hachiman…" He shrugged.

"I never heard of him. He never existed before." Severa concluded for him.

I nodded, not too much shaken from the notion. I probably never arrived there in their time. The lucky bastard.

"So after everything went to hell you came back in time to fix things. Right? That is why you are here in Plegia." I concluded, lifting my hand from Robin's shoulder now that she was calmer.

"Yes. You may understand our panic when Lady Robin suddenly appeared at our doorstep with one of the mightiest warriors of our time and an unknown person." The Sage joked lightly, causing a small smile in both his wife and Robin.

I hummed noncommittally and thought back at the other suspicious person that was hell-bent to make Robin join the Shepherds.

"Say, is Marth someone you know? Blue hair, butterfly mask, woman but trys to pass as a male…" I asked, causing Robin to let out a oh of understanding.

Severa snorted, before she laughed at the description, while Owain shook his head in amusement, "Marth uh? I forgot we did that. Yes, that would be Uncle Chrom's daughter, Lucina. So she is finally here…" he commented wistfully.

"How was she?" Severa asked softly, her usual strong tone now hidden by the small smile that she wore.

"Last time we saw her, she was leaving Centre in search of her comrades, which would probably be you. I assume she was panicking after I took Robin with me…." I commented, wincing at the thought.

Thinking back, it made sense. The hostility, the insistence the desperation… everything checked.

Most likely, they were telling the truth. We had no definitive proof, but with all that was happening to us, I could easily believe that something like this could happen.

However, the question was what to do now that I knew about it?

I had in front of me a doomsday scenario with time travelers that came back to stop them. By all means, those were more reasons to keep them away from us.

Except that I had Robin and Donnel with me, who will be important players in the future.

And that would mean I would be in the center of the storm anyway. If not because of Fate, but because the other travelers would search for them when they noticed her absence. Some of them could even be stupid enough to try and take them away with force, being it by killing me or not.

Having all of this in consideration...

"Fine, you can come with us." I said to them. Robin sighed and nodded her confirmation, while the two time displaced parents smiled in relief.

"But you have to tell us the entire story. " I concluded.

Because there was no way in hell I was going to touch this plot without knowing what hell I was walking into.

* * *

Grima clenched her fists, her form gliding at high speeds through the forest, leaving behind the anthill the insects called Uror.

Clicking her tongue, she blasted a random tree out of existence in anger at the complete failure of the operation.

She was even close to killing the little girl!

The plan worked perfectly. The defensive force was far too much occupied with fighting off the main invaders to notice a small squad of Risen circling the battlefield and breaking from the side of the village towards the source of the weaker Naga's light.

As expected, there were people defending the non-combats, but were so few that they should not have been a problem with the superior numbers.

And it wasn't.

Taking control of some Risen, she set the church on fire, creating panic and a stampede, forcing the girl to get out of there right into the maws of her slaves.

She did not hold any belief that the stampede would kill her. Naga would make sure that her precious child would survive this kind of experience, and apparently, she wasn't above these kinds of divine interventions, and sure enough, she did feel the Brand giving a weak sign of power.

That was all within her plans.

What wasn't in her plans was the presence of Robin! What was that pathetic girl doing here? She was supposed to be with the idiotic prince and fight with him! Not in Plegia!

Did her come in this timeline screw things this bad? Possible, but unlikely. Whatever the case, she had to keep an eye on her. Now that she knew the Tactician was there, she would be easy to keep track of.

Her power was distinctive, even with her soul dormant, so she knew where to look.

The other thing that wasn't in her plans was the presence of that boy, Hachiman, the child called him. She had no idea what a Valmese was doing in Plegia, but the boy was sharp.

He caught up with the objective of the Risen in the middle of the battle and took her away. A stupid move, he would have done better staying with the other fighters, especially with a deadweight and his pitiful combat capabilities, but that worked to her advantage.

She took control of two of her Risen and followed him. It was shameful for her to lose the first Risen with such a basic ambush, but the moment she had control over the other, she quickly cornered him, his skill being nothing compared with her lifetimes of experience, even with a weak Risen like that.

Her other error though, the one she was irritated at the most, was that she forgot how powerful a cornered animal was.

Because that was what let him win. Desperation. Normally, she would have used that to her advantage, but she was just so amused when he tried to throw her a chair. Pathetic, really.

But that moment was more than enough for the boy to defeat the Risen with only his weak punches, destroying her chances to kill the girl right then and there.

A dune blasted away, her rage fueling another blast of pure raw energy.

It was frustrating and maddening. All it took was a moment, and a mere human, a weak human, to destroy her plan.

And that was the most maddening part. That a mere human, a weak worm did it. Not Naga's intervention, not Manasseh's spawn, not even Robin's foresight, but a random human worm did!

If it wasn't for that, she would not be so mad. The failure was frustrating, but it wasn't terrible in the grand scheme of things. She knew that the child existed and was untrained, so she would be easy prey on any other occasion.

She knew that something was off, that Robin was in Plegia instead of in Ylisse, leaving the prince unprotected.

She knew how strong the two fugitives were, so now she knew how to deal with them.

All in all, even with the wasted power, the information gathered was more than enough to even the events of the fight in her mind.

To not talk of the sheer negativity, the pain, and despair that the spawn emitted when he unmasked her Deadlord and discovered his precious mother controlled to her whims. That Naga's chosen was the one to emit such a warm meal was more than enough to calm her.

But enough of that.

She needed to plan for her next move. The information gathered was precious and could be easily used to her advantage.

Yes, it was time for her to go and meet her devoted follower. The vermin was useful the first time around, and she was sure that Validar would be precious now that she was in hiding until she had regained her full power.

Then she could kill him. Again.

But she was sure that he would be more than happy to know that his dear, lost, daughter was alive and back in Plegia.

**Author Notes:**

**And hello there people, I am back. **

**This is the last chapter before we come back to Chrom and co. Like everyone was waiting for!**

**Now, to clarify things. The talk with Owain will tell Hachiman's group everything the children knew besides the parents. They keep that a secret.**

**What do you guys think? It is strange that they decided to talk about the future? Is Severa's tsun too much?**

**And the Hachiman's fight? Satisfied? Not? **

**What about Grima? I took a lot of liberties with her powerset, knowing what we know about her powers, which is nothing much.**

**Do you like the plan? I am trying to make her sound smart and cunning, as she should be so some comment on the plan would be appreciated. Is it fine or is it too much?**

**Also, what will we name Hachiman's lance and armour?**

**A bit of trivia: by wiki, Grima could have various etymology one of which being Gimle, a place where the worthy survivors of Ragnarok are told to live (from Wikipedia). Another way to call this place is Gimli so yes, Gimli is the religious capital of Plegia. **

**See you next time. **

**Taine **


	10. Chapter 10

**Curiously, Emmeryn is satisfied.**

Emmeryn exited from the meeting with a small sigh, her guardian, retainer, and dear friend-dutifully at her side with the same stoic mask of concentration as always, as if reviewing everything that happened inside the conference room.

Emmeryn obviously knew better.

Phila was one of her most faithful people but tended to be extremely zealous in her duties. Under the mask, she was extremely irritated by the pointless chatter and the general waste of time that just happened inside the room. As always, despite the situation, personal interests were in the way of steady decisions.

The Exalt felt the same too. She really was the sister of her siblings, after all, and-as a rule of thumb-time spent in those kinds of conferences, where there was simply an important report to do but nothing to decide, was time wasted.

To this day, despite the years as a ruler, she still wished that this kind of meeting would not be strictly necessary to maintain peace in the kingdom.

A pointless and wishful desire, but that was all she had in this kind of situation.

Walking away towards the throne room, Emmeryn smiled at the various noble heads and dukes who followed her exit from the meeting room, giving a quiet and polite goodbye to each of them.

After a couple of minutes, Maribelle exited from the room, wearing the neutral mask that she used when she was in this type of conference with her father.

Emmeryn was extremely impressed with the behaviour that the young woman had in her first solitary meeting, but was hardly surprised.

Maribelle was, in one word, professional.

The young duchess was extremely distant towards everyone and everything, generally not giving any kind of reaction towards the various topics and not answering any kind of political provocation and insults that she endured from the others.

It was a good way to show the elders that despite her young age, she was not to be played with, but a terrible way to foster a relationship with them. But again, dear Maribelle had never been that kind of person as she was too awkward to bond with both the nobles or her subjects on a deeper level.

"Exalt Emmeryn," the young healer greeted politely with her always perfect bow. Her tone was cold, distant.

The Exalt replied with a warm smile and asked, "Maribelle. Do you perhaps want to join me and my brother in my study for tea?"

The mask immediately cracked, and the young blonde hesitated for a brief moment, clearly unwilling to join them. Etiquette would rule that she follows her leader-etiquette that the Troubadour would have normally followed with extreme pleasure-but the woman did not seem much inclined at the moment.

Emmeryn had a good idea of the why, and it was not because of the meeting that had just ended.

"I would not dare to interrupt your duties." Maribelle tried to deflect politely, letting only a bit of her impatience slip past her.

Emmeryn did not mind. It was actually the reason that she invited her.

"Nonsense, dear. After all, your presence would speed up a chunk of my work," the Exalt explained pleasantly.

For a fraction of a second, the duchess grimaced, deep anger flashing in her eyes when she understood what they were about to talk about.

Maribelle took a couple of seconds to regain her composure and, under the eyes of the Exalt, she returned to the perfect lady of the duchy of Themis.

"Then it will be my pleasure to serve you, Milady," she said with another bow, her voice not betraying the strong emotion previously shown.

Emmeryn smiled again at the younger girl and guided her to towards the throne room, where the study of the Exalt was positioned in an adjacent room. Phila dutifully followed them at their back.

Once inside the room, the sight of the Prince of Ylisse lazily waiting for them in a hardly dignified manner, munching on a ration of bread while looking like he was in deep contemplation, welcomed the two women.

Predictably, Maribelle looked scandalized at the behaviour, but the Exalt did not seem fazed, smiling with amusement at her younger brother's antics. "Hello Chrom," she called to him while she sat down at the other side of the desk.

The Lord gulped down the last of his snack and swatted away the crumbs on his face with his hand. Only then did he smile back at the Exalt.

"Hello Emm…" He blinked, noticing the other woman, but the new presence did not have any kind of effect on him, and he smiled warmly at the duchess as if nothing happened. "Hello, Maribelle. It is nice to see you again."

To him, it hardly was.

The poor girl blushed at the prince and hastily bowed to him. "G-greetings, Prince Chrom. I am happy to see you back without any kind of trouble. I presume the Shepherds did not meet any problem in those few days?"

"The South part of Ylisse is relatively fine. The Undead did not seem to have spread far into the kingdom as we had feared," the blue-haired prince answered easily, sitting in a more proper position on the chair. He glanced at his sister, who was simply listening to the two talking in silence. "We did meet a couple of Undead's groups, but they were easily dispatched without much of a problem. Oh, but we did meet a mercenary group. They were rather friendly though, so nothing came out of it. Pretty nice people all around."

The two women nodded, and that was when the Troubadour, after an approving nod from the Exalt, sat on the chair next to the Prince.

"I hope my dear Lissa did not exhaust herself while healing all of those brutes. Honestly, charging against the enemies is not the best way to confront all situations…" she commented, prompting an awkward laugh from the Prince.

"Well, against them, it works so I do not see why to change. But I think Lissa did exhaust herself, even if she did not complain about it," he admitted.

Maribelle looked extremely guilty at the news, and Chrom immediately went to comfort her.

"It is fine, Maribelle. Lissa did not blame you for the absence. Nobody does. We all understand the need to check on Themis after the attack from the Plegian bandits," he said.

Emmeryn quietly sighed at the slip up, and the woman could only watch with a touch of amusement how her brother's careless comment further sunk the mood of the duchess instead of improving it. Evidently, even Chrom realized the error, visibly cringing at his own words.

"No, I mean, ergh…" he stammered out in panic, trying to think about something to amend the error. After a couple of seconds, he blurted out, "I am sure you will restore Themis in no time, Maribelle. Me and Lissa will be waiting for you, so do not worry too much."

Emmeryn had to hide a chuckle at how the words of the swordsman relaxed the duchess. How her brother could be so good at cheering up young girls despite his terribly blunt personality was still a mystery to her and Lissa, but she was glad that her younger sister was always at his side.

She did a good job of keeping the girls from swarming him. Well, her and Frederick, even if the older guard did not know it yet.

"I will, Prince Chrom." She heard the woman say passionately, her eyes shining in determination. Chrom gave a not so hidden sigh of relief at the subtle change of mood and turned towards the Exalt to change the subject.

"So Emm, what did you want to talk about?" He asked a bit too quickly, much to the older woman's amusement. She decided to follow his lead anyways and start the meeting.

"We have quite a bit to talk about," the Exalt commented, catching the attention of the two who dutifully focused on the matter at hand and stopped their talking.

So serious.

"First things first, as you may know, since the night of the Undead invasion, Ylisse has had a constant stream of letters and communications with both Regna Ferox and Plegia," Emmeryn said, much to the confusion of the Prince.

"We have? Even with Plegia?" The blue-haired man asked with a bit of malice, prompting a sigh of resignation from his older sister.

"Yes, Chrom. That is how you and the Shepherds were able to enter the Feroxi border. And knowing little about this new threat, all of the three Kingdoms of Archanea have started a three-way communication to consult each other about them."

Chrom accepted the explanation without much of a fuss and did not protest the decision. Emmeryn felt relief at the improvement from the previous years when even trying to establish any kind of communication with the Grimleal Kingdom would set him off.

"And after a month of exchanges, and the official alliance with Regna Ferox, King Gangrel decided to meet both me and the current Khan, Lady Flavia, for a personal meeting to discuss and possibly finalize the terms of alliance against this threat," she announced with a clearly pleased tone in her voice.

Chrom blinked and crossed his arms in thought, but-after a minute of thinking-he gave his sister a soft and pleasing smile nonetheless and said "I am glad to hear it, Emm. Maybe peace is finally in our reach," he said.

Maribelle, on the other hand, was… torn. The Exalt was not surprised by the reaction, knowing what happened at her home. "I… see… that is fantastic, your highness… but…" She tried to say it slowly and timidly, almost as if she feared to offend her.

Emmeryn looked at the young girl with a sad look. "Unfortunately, King Gangrel announced that the attack was made by some deserters of the army that led a local group of bandits," she admitted.

Predictably, Maribelle did not take the news well. With that announcement, King Gangrel pinned the responsibility of the attack on her duchy to some random group that could not be easily traced.

"He even said that he would take the matter into his own hands and see those responsible punished in Plegia," the Exalt added.

Maribelle clicked her tongue in disappointment and crossed her arms in defiance. She did not openly protest to the Exalt, but the barely contained fury was now visible to everyone in the room, the implication of this statement clear to the group.

With this move, he practically forbid Ylisse's forces, or to be more precise, Themis's forces, to investigate the matter and deal justice as they saw fit.

While for Chrom and Emmeryn, this was something that they could easily accept, they knew that for Maribelle, the matter was personal. It was an attack on her own territory, and now, she had her hands tied, incapable of reacting in any way. Not only did her pride demand that she intervenes, but the people's confidence in her and her family would lose a good chunk of credibility if she didn't.

"Fortunately, I have some good news for you," the Exalt continued after a moment of silence.

Chrom looked between Maribelle and Emmeryn in concern, while the duchess simply strengthened herself and waited for the Queen to deliver additional news.

"This meeting will be attended not only by King Gangrel and Khan Flavia, but even Lady Anna XXIII will be part of the treaty," she said in a satisfied tone.

That announcement got a reaction out of the two. Even Chrom seemed extremely surprised by the news, not that she could blame them.

While the Annas were not a strange sight for any seasoned traveler, few knew that they had a leader that kept the various girls in check and managed the incomes of the family. For the last fifteen years, that woman was Lady Anna The XXIII.

While she did not control the family, her word was a powerful force that would greatly influence the routes that the girls would take. And everyone knew that the Annas were the best merchants in the entire world.

It would not be a stretch saying that, in times of economic crisis, her word could make the difference between a prosperous kingdom and a bankrupt one.

Cases like Plegia were right after the war and, in a way, Ylisse.

"That is good news," Maribelle admitted with some relief in her voice.

The Exalt gave her an encouraging smile before saying, "That is why, by royal decree, the Shepherds will accompany me at the meeting. We will depart in three days, so I would like for all of you to start preparing for this event."

The two nodded in understanding, and the Exalt could not be happier to notice that of the two, her little brother seemed the more enthusiastic at the notion of the event ahead.

"Good. Now, there is another matter that I wish for you to hear, Maribelle," she continued, calming the two's spirits.

"Yesterday, I received another letter from Anna. It was written specifically for me and you, Chrom. It was from our new friends, Hikigaya Hachiman and Robin."

The prince took a moment to recall the names, but when he did, he seemed relieved to hear that the two were doing fine.

Maribelle though did not seem to recognize the names. Understandable, knowing that she only met them once.

"I am glad to hear it. But why would they write to us?" Chrom questioned, only to realize something. "Did they find something about the Undead?" he asked quickly, causing the duchess to widen her eyes in recognition.

"That brute and the Grimleal? I did not realize that they worked for you, Lady Emmeryn," she commented in curiosity, blushing a bit realizing the way she referred to them.

"I did not commission them, Maribelle. The two of them wrote to us of their own initiative after they discovered something about our enemies. Despite their problems, they had the heart to give us the information and the advice that we need." She stated, much to the blonde duchess's surprise.

"Oh. That is commendable of them. Maybe I misjudged those two…" she said to herself, but her musing was interrupted by the Prince's enthusiasm.

"So, what did they discover?" He asked impatiently.

The Exalt's smile dropped and gave a small sigh. "Unfortunately, grim news," she said, cutting the two's spirit with those words.

"Miss Robin wrote that they have definitive proof that the Undead are, indeed, the corpses of our deceased. Their travels led them to Plegia, where they were caught in an invasion of those monsters that would have destroyed the village if it wasn't for the organized defense that they had," she started to explain, much to the two's horror.

"The village is fine, and they successfully helped in the defense, but in the battle, they discovered a new type of Undead. They named it Deadlord. They said it is easily recognizable from the others. This Deadlord has not only better equipment, but it is more defined from the common Undead. You can easily tell that it was human, and they move like one. Apparently, this Deadlord has access to magic, because the woman they fought had the ability to self-regenerate from cuts and wounds. Not only that, but the skill in battle of the Deadlord match the ones of the best of the Kingdom, with this woman being able to kill effortlessly six soldiers in a matter of seconds, before the most powerful soldiers of the village, which comprises of a mage able to cast Arc level spells, engaged and defeated her."

Maribelle gulped at the story, while Chrom nodded hesitantly, knowing that the level they were talking about was far over what he was capable of as of now.

Arc level spells were no joking matter. Not only did they need a sizable amount of energy, but they required a lot of concentration and time to cast.

For a warrior to be able to use them in battle, they would need to be extremely experienced and very powerful. Even Emmeryn, an accomplished and powerful mage in her own right, was not able to cast that level of spell in the middle of a stressful situation.

If such power was needed to fight against this kind of threat… yes, they would need the might of the entire Archanea.

"Apparently, the Deadlord reacted at the presence of this mage, and when they cut their mask, the Sage recognized the person behind it. The mage swears to know the woman under the mask." She concluded.

The older woman stopped and allowed the two nobles in front of her to digest the load of information just explained.

Between the two, Chrom was the one who seemed to have the most controlled reaction. He looked grim at the news, but the indignation was still clear in his eyes. Emmeryn felt proud that he did not immediately explode, but she did not know how long it would last.

Hopefully, no walls will be broken after this meeting.

"How despicable…" The young duchess muttered, visibly shaking in anger. "To use our own ancestors against us… what kind of animals would do this…"

The Exalt made to calm her down, but to her surprise, it was Chrom that spoke first. "Peace, Maribelle," he called out to her, his voice slightly tense. Nevertheless, he put a hand on her shoulder and smiled calmly at the duchess.

"What they are doing is despicable, but it will not continue for much longer. With the might of the three kingdoms, those dastard will not escape justice." Her brother added solemnly.

And, as he spoke, Emmeryn saw the blonde young woman slowly reign her temper. Of course, the fire and anger were still there, the Sage could see it in her eyes, even if well subsided. But to have her reckless brother calm the fiery girl down with just a movement of his hand and a few words…

For a brief moment, Chrom disappeared, and Emmeryn saw a man of similar stature, if bulkier. Most of his features were faded, but the long, untamed blue hairs and the deep anger were still clear in her memories, despite the decade.

Emmeryn wondered if her father was like that, before the Plegian War. If it was that side of the man that led Ylisse to a crusade against first the Grimleal and then Plegia.

Closing her eyes, she waited for a couple of seconds for Maribelle to reply to her brother. When she did not answer back, Emmeryn stared back at the two with a warm, proud smile on her face.

"Chrom is right Maribelle. Moreover, thanks to these new events, our friends are led to believe that they have an idea of the culprits of those events," she said.

With those words, the two were again giving their complete attention.

"Really?" Chrom asked, surprised and excited at the news. Maribelle was more composed than her Prince, but that did not mean that she wasn't as curious as him. Emmeryn solemnly nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. I think Mr. Hachiman did put some of his thoughts in there. He thinks that the chances that Plegia is behind the attacks are slim at best. The attack was meant to completely destroy the town, and despite his name, King Gangrel has never shown any self-destructive tendencies towards his own subjects." She said.

The two nodded, prompting her to continue. "That leads him to believe that, whoever is in charge, has no political goal, or at least, not a concrete one."

Chrom took a moment to process the information, contemplating what she just said, before saying, "In short, he doesn't think that King Gangrel is behind all of this."

Emmeryn studied her younger brother. He did not seem particularly pleased or displeased by the conclusion, and she could only think it was because he wasn't sure of what to think of the news.

"Your Highness, do you think that Archbishop Aversa could be behind this?" Maribelle asked stiffly, catching both the Exalt and the Prince's attention.

Chrom blinked and crossed his arms in thought, but he simply waited for his older sibling's answer, his face remaining a blank mask.

"Despite being strongly associated with the late Archbishop Validar, Archbishop Aversa never suggested the same notorious extremist belief. No, Maribelle, I doubt it," the blonde ruler explained simply.

Emmeryn's mind couldn't help but go back to the sudden death of the last Grimleal leader. His death and the rise of power of the young Aversa shook the entire Archanean's political landscape.

The assassination was, to put in polite terms, a mess for both Plegia and Ylisse. Accusations were made, the Grimleal clergy pointing to the Ylissean royal line and the Church of Naga as the culprit.

It was the only time when both her and King Gangrel had to cooperate to quell the hearts of the people.

Nothing came out of the investigations, none that could be traced to either of them. And Emmeryn knew that Ylisse had nothing to do with that.

Whoever the culprit was, it would be an independent faction that despised the more extremist views of the old Archbishop.

But this was not the time to reminisce about the past.

Both the young nobles gave a nod of understanding and affirmation, the duchess trusting her words completely.

Chrom, on the other hand, still looked to have had some doubts about the matter. He, however, decided to let those rest for now.

Emmeryn smiled and glanced towards the Troubadour.

"Having said that, I have to ask dear Maribelle to go and explain the situation to all the Shepherds. I would like to discuss with my brother in private," she said.

Maribelle promptly nodded and slowly sat up without making a sound.

She graciously and elegantly bowed, first to the Exalt and then to the Prince, saying, "Then I will leave you to your matters and immediately complete your task. Have a pleasant day Lady Emmeryn, Prince Chrom."

The two nodded and smiled back at the blonde duchess, and watched the girl go out of the room in silence. Chrom's gaze lingering on the woman back seemingly lost in contemplation with a small, satisfied smile on his face.

It lasted only a second before the Prince looked back at his sister.

"What is it Emm?" He asked curiously, immediately relaxing and losing the previous composure gained in the last conversation.

Emmeryn did not bother to hide her amusement at the sudden change, but she did not let it deter in her conversation.

"There is something else that Mr. Hachiman wrote In the letter. It is completely unrelated to the problems at hand. In fact, it was explicitly a request for help to us," she explained.

Chrom blinked and hummed acknowledgment, a glint of eagerness in his eyes at the thought of helping someone.

"What does he request? It seems strange that whatever it is, you couldn't just give it to him. Does he require the assistance of the Shepherds?" The blue-haired Lord asked.

Emmeryn shook gently her head, replying, "Nothing dangerous, luckily. But his request needs the presence of the Naga's bloodline to aid him. It does concern his origin."

Chrom looked curious and a bit guarded at the answer and said, "I assumed he was part of a foreign nobility. Was I wrong?"

Emmeryn chuckled, and gave a simple nod, making Chrom even more curious at the topic.

"Yes. Our friend is certainly a foreigner, in a way. But even so, he is more out of place than you think. He is an Outrealmer, Chrom."

As expected, Emmeryn saw Chrom freeze, his eyes widening in surprise. His mouth slacked open, trying to reply, but he seemed to have difficulties in trying to talk.

After a dozen seconds, the swordsman finally stuttered out in wonder and excitement, "A-an Outrealmer? Are you sure Emmeryn?"

Emmeryn smiled at the childish glee that her brother displayed at the news.

"Yes Chrom, I believe he is. Unfortunately, Mr. Hachiman did not come here by choice," she explained, turning her tone into something more grave, but Chrom did not seem particularly detracted by the notion.

"An Outrealmer in a time of crisis like this… maybe it's a sign, Emm. Maybe Naga sent it to us to help!" the Prince exclaimed.

The older Sage sighed and shook her head. "I cannot say, Chrom. Lady Naga did not give any sign of it, and Lady Tiki did not speak of it this month. If he is help from the Goddess, she did not show it to me or to us. Nevertheless, our guest did not seem keen to remain with us," she said.

Chrom blinked at the words, his excitement slightly diminishing. "He doesn't?"

Emmeryn smiled sadly and nodded. "Yes. He did not have a choice in his arrival here. You heard him, Chrom. He has people who are waiting for him at home. It has been at least a month since he came here, and I doubt that he has any way to contact his friends and family."

The Prince's enthusiasm immediately dropped at her words, now feeling guilty at the situation at hand.

Subdued, he asked, "I… see… and despite that, he still uses his time and intellect to help us…" He noticed a faint trace of admiration in his voice.

"And what does he require then?" He asked.

Emmeryn paused a moment to study his expression, feeling saddened at the sight of her younger brother's complicated expression.

The possibility of interacting with an Outrealmer was, after all, a dream come true for the Prince. Even the Exalt could feel a bit of the romanticism at the idea of an otherworldly and wildly different man coming from another world to explore and help her kingdom.

It felt like a fairy tale, a legend of old.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

"He suspects that one of the forces that might help him in his quest to return home might be Lady Naga herself," she explained.

Chrom nodded in understanding, but despite that, he frowned, "I see, but.. we can't help him in that. The Exalt line has no means to contact the Goddess, unfortunately."

"That is… not entirely true, Chrom," Emmeryn said with a small, amused smile, waiting for his reaction.

As expected, she saw a dumb look on her brother's face, similar to the previous one when he heard of the Outrealmer origin but more confused than surprised.

"What?"

Emmeryn chuckled and shook her head in amusement, before explaining, "Mr. Hachiman met various legends in Plegia and wrote us of a possible ritual to contact her. We both know it, but it really didn't come to mind when he asked for my help. You know the ritual too, Chrom."

Chrom slowly blinked and looked lost in thought for a moment. Emmeryn waited for a full minute, before her younger brother hesitantly answered, unsure, "The Awakening Ceremony?"

The Exalt nodded in confirmation and explained, "Exactly. The Ceremony consists of calling over the Goddess to reveal the true form of Falchion, right?" When she said that, the Lord's eyes lit up in comprehension.

Despite giving a nod of comprehension, the blue-haired swordsman looked a bit confused. "But don't we need all the Gemstones to successfully complete the ceremony? We only have Argent in Ylisse, unfortunately."

Emmeryn gave a resolute nod. "You are right, of course, but I believe that we do not need every Gemstone to contact the Goddess. We are not trying to awaken Falchion, after all."

Chrom gave his consent, not answering his sister.

It was as good a conjecture as any. And it wouldn't hurt to try. Worst came to worst, nothing happens, and Mr. Hachiman would have to find another way back home.

"I see. So you wish for me and the Shepherds to escort him to Mount Prism and try the Ceremony?"

Giving a calm, proud smile, Emmeryn nodded. "Yes, Chrom. I would do it myself, but I do not think I will have the time. That is why, the next time Mr. Hachiman and Miss Robin come here, you will help them."

Chrom just smiled back.

"Of course sis."

* * *

Chrom stared at the wooden dormitory hesitantly, feeling a sense of alienation despite owning the damn thing.

He guessed being a male in what was essentially, a female-only dormitory would make anyone feel self-conscious.

Sighing deeply, the prince awkwardly headed to the dorm, mentally damning his little sister who dumped the job on him.

Luckily for him though, the person that he was tasked to call appeared if only from another direction instead of from the inside of the dormitory, cladded in her usual silver armour and with what was a really too big bag on her shoulder.

The Lord made to call her out, but Sumia spotted him first and immediately looked extremely embarrassed, starting to run towards him in semi-panic. "C-captaiaaa-gah!"

The blue-haired man twitched in phantom pain at the scene, the girl immediately tripping over one of those devious pebbles (those menaces were everywhere!) and face planting on the stone floor.

"Sumia, are you alright!?" He called out, hurrying at her side and kneeling over to check on the girl.

The Pegasus Knight did not reply immediately, slowly rising to her feet mumbling something incoherent. Chrom waited for her to regain her composure and, after a bit of waiting, the girl jumped up and bowed slightly in what was clear embarrassment and worry.

"C-captain I'm sorry! That was an unsightly disp-" she tried to say, but the prince stopped her.

"It is fine Sumia. Are you all right?" he interrupted her and asked again, taking a step closer to look at her face. Her face was red, probably for the fall, and for a moment, Chrom thought that her nose had been broken.

Unceremoniously, he decided to personally see if that was the case and cautiously touched her nose.

She did not flinch or express any pain, but she immediately froze as if she was a surprised deer and her face grew redder and hotter at the touch.

Damn it, was she feverish?

"Do you have a fever, Sumia?" Chrom asked, putting on his best commander voice while taking a step back.

Sumia took a couple of seconds to regain her bearings and answer properly.

"Whu-what? Uh? Oh, of course not Captain," she replied, much to his disappointment.

He frowned, unsure of how to take the answer, but she did seem better now, her face slowly regaining her more pallid complex, save a bit on her cheeks and nose.

"If you are sure. But if you feel something during the travel…" he tried to say.

"I will never endanger my fellow knights, Captain. Especially not at an important moment like this," she interrupted him, surprising the swordsman with the strong emotions behind her words. Almost as if she felt offended at the thought.

"I see. I apologize then," the Lord finally said with a small smile and a slight bow of his head, surprising the girl, who trembled in panic for a moment.

"Then we should go. The others are gathering at the gates of the castle," he added before she could say anything.

Sumia meekly nodded and adjusted the really big bag on her shoulders.

Chrom could not help the stare at it. It was just so heavy-looking, and the girl looked so tiny… She was a knight, he knew that, and he knew that Sumia was strong enough to carry it but…

"Do… you want me to help you with that?" He asked hesitantly at the girl, who looked curiously at him.

She blinked. "Hm? There is no need, Captain. It is not heavy." The girl dismissed his offer easily, looking back at her feet, probably to avoid any other pebble.

Chrom could sympathize with that.

What he could not understand was what was inside the bag. He wanted to ask. He really wanted to. But he wasn't sure if it was the polite thing to do. There could be some stuff that men were not allowed to know.

Girl stuff.

Gods forbid Sully did not deck him five years ago when her bag suddenly became bigger and he and Vaike asked what she was taking around.

He winced at the memory. Yeah, better not ask.

"So Sumia. It is strange for you to not be the first ready. What happened today?" He asked instead, deciding to deflect with another question.

The pink-themed knight looked at him and flushed in embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry Captain. It was just… I was sending a letter to my parents, that's all," she admitted.

Chrom looked surprised at the admission and immediately tried to recall what he knew about them but, to his shame, nothing came to mind.

"I… do not recall having heard about them, Sumia. How are they?" He asked, deciding to rectify the error.

Sumia smiled slightly, without looking at him. "My family… we are low nobility, Captain. We just have a small village around our home, at north towards the Feroxi border. Nothing more. Great grandfather acquired it after years in the army and distinguishing himself in a skirmish with the Feroxi at the time," she explained warmly.

"Father said he and grandfather preferred to manage the land instead of following his footsteps, expanding it and making a living with Regna Ferox and as a source of goods for the Annas. I remember playing a lot with Anna and Anna when Lady Anna came over… it's been years… I hope they are fine."

Chrom had no idea how she could distinguish the two Annas, and made the decision to ask another time about that.

"So you decided to be a knight because you wanted to follow the footsteps of your great grandfather?" he asked.

Sumia did not answer, looking extremely embarrassed at the question, if not even ashamed of herself.

Damn it, Chrom, he chastised himself. You stepped on a pitfall!

The Lord was going to hurriedly backtrack on the question, but that is when Sumia decided to answer, even if a bit hesitantly.

"No… not really I… my big brother, Kay, is supposed to take control of the land in a few years. Mother and Father suggested I join the Church of Naga, but… I did not want that." She admitted.

To be fair to her parents, if a younger Sumia was anything like she was now, the idea of being a priestess of Naga was not farfetched to him. He was not sure on how she would take his idea though.

"But I did not want to do nothing. Mother was a farmer, and she still works most of the time. I wanted to be like her. Not simply… be," she explained.

Chrom could understand the feeling. The idea to do nothing while his sister was taking over a ruining kingdom… it still disgusted him how weak and powerless he was at the time. Even if Emm insisted to simply go play, but how could he do that when she always came back trembling and on the verge of crying?

Chrom discarded the memories.

"So you decided to be a knight…" he guessed, seeing the parallels.

To his surprise, instead, she shook her head.

"No. I was too scared at the time," she said. Chrom blinked, waiting for her to elaborate, feeling the interest for her story rise with the admission.

Noticing his curiosity, Sumia squirmed under the attention, but took a deep breath and exhaled, calming her nerves and explaining.

"I have a friend… Cordelia. We've known each other since we were children. I think both of our great grandfathers had known each other as well, but I'm not sure…" She trailed off, before sighing and shaking her head.

"Cordelia was… still is… amazing. She is a genius. She always understood everything like-like she always knew. Nobody could keep up with her… except me," she stated.

Chrom blinked for a brief moment, surprised by the unusual confidence she stated. Sumia blushed and looked away.

"I-I'm sorry. I know it's arrogant to say, but…" She trailed off, panicking more in the process, but Chrom decided to stop her before she could fall apart again.

"It is fine Sumia. You are talented yourself. There is no arrogance in the truth," he quickly said. He wasn't even lying because she was a Shepherd, after all.

The Pegasus knight blushed and looked away embarrassed, probably pleased by the compliment.

"O-oh. Thanks Captain…" she murmured, her eyes on the ground, mumbling something that he could not catch.

The swordsman waited for a bit for her to regain her composure, but seeing her smiling happily like in a daze, he decided to call her out. "Sumia? Your friend?" he asked.

The noble girl blinked and panicked, realizing her error.

Chrom sighed.

"I'm sorry, Captain. As I was saying, I was the only one who could keep up with her, even if barely. She wanted to follow in her family's footsteps and become a knight, and she just… asked me to follow her. She said we could be a great team. Invincible even," she said, smiling slightly.

"And I accepted. Now, she is in the Pegasus Knight's. Probably one of the best there is."

"While you are here with the Shepherds. The best of the Kingdom," Chrom added, much to the girl's embarrassment. She shook her head.

"I'm here just because she refused the invitation. She wanted to learn under Captain Phila and felt there would be no one here that could mentor her. I'm just… the second choice." She explained.

Chrom shrugged at the admission. "Well, I'm glad she declined then. We would not have you if she accepted." he said with a big smile.

Sumia paled for a bit, before looking away, her face as hot as the fire of a furnace.

"You and your pies… hmmm… pies…" he added, looking in the distance, lost in his own little world.

It did not last long because the both of them were interrupted by the yellow hurricane known as Lissa, who jumped on the prince's back and started screaming in anger.

"You took your time, Chrom! What were you doing with Sumia, huh?! You know that there is a time and place to flirt, and now it is not the time!"

The Pegasus Knight recoiled at the scream and started stammering in denial, while Chrom grunted irritably and nursed his ears.

Damn it, Lissa.

"Is everyone here then?" The authoritative voice of Frederick called out, interrupting the two siblings.

Chrom looked around, noticing that, this time, young Ricken was with them in this escort mission, right beside his sister.

He grimaced at the sight, but he knew it was not the time to discuss his presence. They would need all the help they could get if things went bad at the meeting.

"Yes Frederick, everyone is here. Let us get going, everyone!" He shouted, receiving an affirmative shout from all those present.

Lissa jumped off his back, glaring at him and making a strange gesture that could mean both 'I'm watching you' or 'I'm on your royal ass, watch your back'. Well maybe not in that terms, but he could expect a prank sometime in the near future.

Sighing and watching his blond sister walking towards the back of the carriages, probably towards Maribelle, Chrom sided with the Exalt, scratching his head in exhaustion at the younger princess antics.

Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one he had to watch for.

"So… Sumia? Well, she is a sweet kid…" she commented.

Chrom groaned.

* * *

Vaike grunted, dropping a box carelessly on the ground, creating a strong thump.

The Fighter looked around the tent, seeing it full of boxes and mentally congratulating

himself for another job well done, crossing his arms with a smug smile.

It was the evening of the first day, and the entourage of the Exalt decided to call a rest for the day, setting up camp. As always, his job was to be one of the pack mules of the group, organizing the inventory.

The tanned man did not particularly mind. Stuff about the mind was something more suited to that of Miriel and Maribelle

True men like Chrom and him were all about punching people in the face and saving the day.

Admittedly, Chrom could still beat him in a challenge of brains, but what can you do when you are just an admittedly amazing but humble orphan?

You are the Vaike; that's what!

"And another job well done for Teach!" He exclaimed carelessly, turning around to go out towards the exit, his mind already at the grub that would be served this dinner.

Heck, maybe Emmeryn would cook for the camp! It had been like, a decade, since he tasted her cooking.

He stopped when he noticed Sully in front of the entrance, looking at him with her arms crossed and with a raised eyebrow. She did look irritated, but Vaike did not particularly care about that.

Sully always seemed pissed at someone. She should really relax a bit, sometimes.

"Hey, Sully! How is it goin'?" The blonde said with a devilish smile, the one that all the ladies can't help but fall for.

Predictably, Sully didn't fall for that, which was expected, in Vaike's mind. Sully was practically a man.

Her body was the only thing feminine about her, really.

"Vaike," the Cavalier replied curtly, shifting her gaze behind him.

The Vaike blinked, feeling a bit of apprehension at the short greeting, but the Fighter did not let it show on his face. The Vaike did not want to show weakness to her, she would pounce him and beat him up.

"I heard a crash, and I wanted to check what was happening. So… a job well done, yeah?" She asked with a strange tone of voice.

Vaike simply nodded, his smile never wavering, but decided to not reply. His battle-honed instincts were screaming something at him, and Teach was no idiot.

With Sully, his instincts always screamed a beating.

The redhead Cavalier took a deep breath like she always did when she talked with him. To cool her head, she said. Before she could do something rash.

Basically, she was falling for good ol' Teach.

"Gods, Vaike, really?" She exhaled slowly, closing her eyes.

The Fighter blinked in clear confusion, furrowing his brow. He looked back, seeing the various boxes that he settled on the ground.

"Yeah?" He confirmed tentatively, suddenly unsure of his own work.

The answer rewarded him with a powerful smack on his head.

"Ouch," the blonde said, nursing his head. He shot a glare at his friend, but the girl did not seem intimidated, simply glaring back harder.

Shamefully, it was the Fighter who relented first, looking away with a manly pout.

"Vaike, your job was to organize the inventory, not to dump everything as is!" She snapped, pointing meaningfully behind his back and at the various boxes simply abandoned.

Sully gave another tired sigh and rubbed her nose in frustration, making the tanned and bigger man squirm in guilt.

"Look Vaike, this is not the first time you were tasked to do this…" The woman said with a glare. "So why?"

The blonde Shepherd hesitated, unsure of how to reply to the tired question.

Scratching his head with an embarrassed and apologetic smile, he simply looked away, causing a threatening growl from the shorter woman.

But instead of another lecture like he expected, the redhead simply gave another tired sigh. And while Vaike could recognize that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, he knew that, whatever his friend was thinking about, wasn't only on him.

Which was good, because the Vaike wasn't really ready for a lecture from her. Or worse, Frederick.

"It's just… Vaike, how the hell can you be so damn carefree even with all of this happening?" She asked, looking back at him.

The blonde blinked and crossed his arms in thought, wracking his brain to find the right answer to the question.

"I dunno Sully. It's just a meeting." He said in the end.

That was not the answer she was expecting

from him, because the Cavalier's face flashed in anger once again. But as soon as it came, it faded, and Sully replied, if with more voice than necessary, "It's not just a stupid meeting, Vaike! It's a meeting with all the strongest and important royals of Ylisse! Emmeryn, Chrom, both the Khans and even that Plegian bastard Gangrel!"

Vaike grinned and nodded in confirmation, prompting the girl to give a visible and loud growl.

"You still don't get it, do you? Those damn animals start using the dead, our dead, against us and they have the gall to just ignore it and pretend this isn't their fault! And despite that you…" she stopped, taking another deep breath, stopping herself from another scream of anger and frustration.

The Vaike tilted his head, his smile thinning at the sight of one of her oldest and trusted friends in so much anger.

Sometimes, he just wished he could punch any kind of problem that was in his way, both his and his friends. That would make life much easier.

Unfortunately for the Vaike, this was not the type of problem that he could beat until it vanished, so he was forced to -urgh- think.

"Is it about your brother…?" The tanned, blonde-haired man asked hesitantly.

That made the girl stop.

And the Fighter sighed, scratching his head. That… wasn't a pretty story.

"It's… those honorless curls… they backstabbed him! They killed your parents! Do you not care about it?" She said, this time somber.

The male Shepherd scratched his chin in thought, mulling over his few memories of a time long before he was an awesome kid.

When only his mother took care of him while his father was back fighting a war… and he did not remember much.

"It's not that I don't care…" The man explained slowly, tasting his words, strangely careful despite his usual hotheadedness.

"It's just… I don't remember much about them, you know? My family's not them." He said, thinking back to the days before he met Chrom and Emmeryn. The days when Vaike was still a kid, even if the strongest in the village, and played with all his brothers and sisters at the village church.

He smiled fondly, before storing the memories away. The Vaike was no sappy woman, after all.

Sully stood rigid, looking at him with a severe expression, but after a bit of waiting, she looked down, murmuring something.

Then she sighed, before glaring back at him. This time there was no fire in her eyes, no will. She looked almost tired, in a way.

"You suck Vaike." She said, causing a squawk

of indignation from the male.

"Just... let's do this stupid inventory. I wanna go eat." She said.

The Fighter groaned loudly in annoyance at the thought of having to move the boxes again over and over, but simply followed her lead.

"What, too much of a pussy to move some boxes?" The red-head taunted, making the blonde grin in challenge.

"Ah, you wish! The Vaike will organize this thing faster than you! Last one will join Frederick's Fitness Hour!" He challenged back while hurrying towards the boxes to have an advantage.

The Cavalier cringed at the thought of that particular session that their teacher had since time immemorial, and the stupid muscle pains that followed for the next few days.

"Hope you are ready to be sore for a week then Vaike!" Sully roared back, following the taller Shepherd in the charge.

That was how, an hour later, Chrom found his two friends still inside the tent moving the boxes in random directions, shouting at each other.

Both of them joined Frederick the following morning.

* * *

His everything was hurting, Lon'qu noted with satisfaction, walking away from the group of his new comrades.

If someone noticed that he was slower, or that he was limping, they did not care or respectfully decided to not point it out to him.

"This… is… nothing… for the Vaike!..."

"Shuuut uup idiot… damn you Frederick…"

"I… was just… just… passing… why..."

"Truly… this is the best… Ylisse has to offer…"

... then again, his comrades were not in better condition. The Myrmidon glanced back at their instructor for the morning. Sir Frederick was sweaty and he too was panting in exhaustion, but the satisfaction that he exuded was impossible to ignore if one was to pay attention.

Lon'qu had to admit it, the Shepherds were a lot better than he initially thought.

All of them were strong and excelled in their own art, be it magic or martial skills, and the entire group took his sudden addition in stride.

Despite his general disposition to loneliness, it was nice being welcomed without hesitation or suspicion.

Even if some of them were too friendly…

"Ah, here you are!" He heard a_ female _voice calling him out. The black-haired swordsman mentally cursed, a bread of sweat slowly falling on his cheek.

He decided to ignore the _girl _and hoped she would not insist on trying to talk with him.

Unfortunately, if he noticed something from the group, it was that the Shepherds were extremely stubborn in their beliefs and behaviors, and the young princess of Ylisse was a true Shepherd in that regard.

"Lon'qu!" The Cleric called him again, this time with no room for error. The Valmese sighed quietly and internally counted up to three, trying to block the chills from showing.

When Princess Lissa of the Kingdom of Ylisse planted herself in front of him with a bright smile, he was not ready to face her.

Nevertheless, he was a warrior, and improvising in the face of the unexpected was a requirement that he mastered years ago.

Scowling his features in a neutral line, Lon'qu stood rigid and, with a small nod, he greeted the blonde girl, "Greetings, Princess Lissa. What do you want?"

The Myrmidon mentally cursed his harsh words, scolding himself for letting his fear manifest so easily, but decided to pretend that nothing was wrong, simply waiting for the girl to answer.

Thankfully, the Princess did not seem to mind his words too much and pouted at him. For a moment, she did not say anything, but then, to his hidden horror, she took a step towards him.

His left arm trembled for a moment, and the young Princess morphed in another, younger girl before his eyes.

A blink later, and Ke'ri was gone.

"None of that!" The Cleric exclaimed with a severe expression, pointing at him. "Just Lissa is fine!" She added, taking another step towards him.

As composedly as he could despite the trembling of his arm -and the pierced body, and screams and the stares- he took a step back and nodded, refusing to give a verbal answer, fearing that his voice would crack.

The Princess followed his step with a smile, and that is when he decided that he _could not _take it anymore.

"I-if that' all, I have to go." He stammered quickly, using his superior agility to turn around her.

"Hey, wait!"

The swordsman ignored her, walking faster despite the fatigue from the training earlier.

When he heard a sigh, and the steps behind him stopped, he allowed himself to relax, but he did not dare to stop walking, making more distance possible between her and himself.

He quickly decided to go towards the armory, hoping that no woman would be there waiting for him.

Walking towards the tent, he allowed himself to distract himself from his surroundings for a bit, trying to quell his heart, and to organize his thoughts in something less disruptive to him.

It was as easy as it always was. He had a lot of practice with that, when the trigger of it was half of the world's population.

Entering the tent, he allowed himself a small sigh of relief, his gaze wandering through the armory. He supposed it was a good time as any to search for a blade in case something happened to his killing edge.

Stepping towards the section of bladed weapons, he then noticed how he was not alone there. The spike of fear was immediately squashed when he noticed that the person was a male Shepherd. A child, nonetheless.

Lon'qu would have frowned at the presence of such a young figure, but he could see the hypocrisy of the statement. He was a fighter since before the first decade of his life, and a man could have a lot of reasons to fight for.

Probably feeling the staring, the child turned around and blinked, surprise flashing on his expression.

"O-oh, good morning Sir Lon'qu!" The child said.

His name was Ricken, if his memories were correct. A young mage, a prodigy, fresh out of academy, but with few combat experience compared to his peers in the small army.

"Good morning." The black-haired swordsman replied quietly with a small nod, looking at the young mage who was squirming in nervousness.

The two stood in silence for a dozen seconds, and Lon'qu could feel the embarrassment building up from the child. He made to talk and try to open conversation, but the redhead Mage was faster, and instinctively blurted out: "W-what are you searching here, Sir?"

The Myrmidon quickly decided to follow that lead: "Something in case my killing edge broke. Long sword of… Valmese origin, thinner than a Ylissean blade." He said curtly, showing his blade to the young Shepherd.

The Mage's gaze switched from the blade to the section where all the swords were organized, his brow furrowed in confusion and thought. Massaging his chin, he slowly walked towards the section and started searching, the Valmese watching the boy attentive.

Despite the clear unease, the child, Ricken, could handle his way through all those blades. The only problem were the longer swords, that were too big for his short stature. A course and a blessing in battle.

Shorter reach, but better maneuverability.

"Sir Lon'qu, how are you taking to the Shepherds?" He asked, a bit too quickly to be considered casual.

The Myrmidon did not particularly mind, even if he was a man of silence.

"Fine. The Shepherds are all really strong, and can help me get better," he answered honestly and curtly.

The Mage only gave an 'Oh' of understanding, before the both of them fell into silence, with only the sound of the shuffled metal interrupting it.

The child did not ask anything else, simply focusing on the task given, up until he let out a loud sigh of exertion and took another killer edge to him.

"Is this it? I am sorry, Sir Lon'qu, but swords are not exactly my specialty. Still, the only difference I can see is that it is slightly shorter than yours and probably heavier." The young Shepherd said apologetically, extending the sword to him.

The black-haired Valmese simply took the sword and unsheathed it, quickly analyzing and comparing it to his current one.

He was impressed by the eye the child showed. His analysis rang true even to his more expert inspection and the mage did admit he had little knowledge of blades. Truly, even a child deserved his place here if this was the expertise shown.

"Nh," he grunted in affirmation, deciding that the sword would be a good reserve in case his main weapon would break in battle.

The shorter reach would be a problem, but he could adapt on the fly.

The red-headed noble gave a relieved smile, before quickly adjusting his disproportionate hat that fell on his eyes.

He mildly wondered how that hat could not affect his ability in battle, before discarding the useless thought by answering it with 'magic'. Mages were strange like that.

"What about you?" He instead asked.

The boy blinked and furrowed his brow, asking "Sorry?"

"Why are you here?" He clarified, adjusting the new sword back in its sheath.

Much to his confusion, his expression contorted in anger for a brief moment, but as quickly as it came, it faded, as the child, immediately took reign of his emotions and subdued it.

Good.

"I… assume you are questioning my reasons to join the Shepherds, Sir Lon'qu?" He asked in clarification, and the Myrmidon nodded again.

The child relaxed and exhaled, his face blushing a bit in embarrassment.

"Ah… the truth is, I am from a noble family, Sir Lon'qu. Unfortunately, we have incurred some financial problems because of the constant bandit attack from various bandits. I joined hoping to earn something for them." He explained sheepishly.

The swordsman gave his nod of comprehension, muttering "Money then."

For some reason that made the child red in shame, his eyes looking away in a mild panic.

"B-but that was just at the start!" He hastily assured him. The Myrmidon was confused at the admission, conveying with just a look of surprise at the added admission.

"N-now… I really admire Prince Chrom." He explained, his voice lowering in a somber tone.

"He is just really strong, confident and capable… I really wish to be like him someday," He explained, and Lon'qu thought back at the Prince of the kingdom.

He did have a spar with him during their way back to Ylisse, and he could easily admit he was really strong. In a match, he was at least his equal, and a battle between them could easily go both ways in terms of skill.

"It is a worthy objective," he commented with a small smile, causing the child to smile back, radiating the happiness that only an innocent soul could radiate.

"Thanks, Sir Lon'qu."

For a moment, the two stood in comfortable silence, but just while he was bidding his farewells, Ricken asked "What about you Sir Lon'qu? What made you… well, take arms."

The Valmese blinked, surprised by the question but he saw no reason to not share that particular bit of history. His mind went back to Ke'ri, but the memory was easily discarded.

After all, she wasn't the reason he started practicing the way of the sword.

"Protection. I started to train with the sword to protect myself. I lived in the slums." He answered.

The child looked particularly distressed at the notion, but before he could try to apologize, he shook his head, interrupting him.

"I had a good life there. Good friends. A good family." he explained, thinking back to the various kids that played with him, the gentle prostitutes that helped them, the caring families that supported them.

If all of that was gone...he had no one to blame but himself.

"I see. I am happy then. I hope that we can help you, despite your unusual employment." He said with a smile.

Of that, Lon'qu had little doubt.

"Oh, right! Speaking of that, Sir Kellam was asking around for your presence yesterday. He wanted to train together, I think." He said with a sheepish smile, scratching his head in embarrassment.

His interest piqued, the Myrmidon looked intently at the Mage, waiting for him to elaborate.

"He said to search for him at the barracks. But, may I suggest waiting?"

Lon'qu blinked, frowning.

"Well, I know that you just finished Fredrick's Fitness Hour. And I know for a fact that Sir Kellam started to join them two weeks ago. I assume both of you are exhausted by Frederick's exercises. I am, unfortunately, not fit to join, but I will be sure to join in the near future!" He said with conviction.

The swordsman nodded and smiled slightly.

"I see. Thank you," he said to the Mage, turning his back to him, and went out of the tent.

He decided to follow the young Shepherd's advice. He could train with his rival after a couple of hours of rest.

He could not afford bad performances with him.

* * *

If one had to describe the meeting place where the Rulers of the entire Ylisse had to meet, modest would be the best adjective that the common man would use.

After all, if such an important meeting was to take place, wouldn't the place benefit from such figures?

The common man would be wrong.

One had to remember who had issued the construction of the small mansion.

Lady Anna XXIII has always been a woman of simple tastes. It was not that she did not appreciate elegance and luxuries, but, despite what the title as the official head of a family of renowned merchants would imply, she did not live in it like the Ylissian Royalty or the Plegian one.

She earned the title as an elder and one of the best merchants in the family.

That is why, the mansion was visibly built in wood and then painted in more neutral colors, the 'garden' lacked any statue and on the walls didn't present any decoration.

But what it did have was a majestic gate, big enough to easily take the entirety of a carriage and the convoy of the Exalt.

But while the sight was certainly impressive, the atmosphere was instead ruined by the presence of Plegian soldiers and Grimleal priests and followers glaring at both the newly arrived Ylisseans and the Feroxi's embassy.

Emmeryn had ignored both groups when she arrived the previous day, her mind already worried at the meeting ahead of her. She did not show it, obviously, only her dear brother and sister had noticed her anxiety.

They did not meet any of the other rulers, each one of them occupying a different section of the mansion.

It was only just before the meeting that Emmeyn could finally meet them in person.

With her, she had both Chrom and Maribelle as her personal guards, while Frederick and Phila were to sit at the edge of the room, guarding them from afar.

The rest of the Shepherds were situated outside the mansion, guarding it with the other soldiers in case of a bandit attack… or if one of the other factions decided to attack them.

Suffice to say, the tension was felt by everyone in the group, and the hostility was barely concealed on both parties.

On the Regna Ferox's side, both the Khans were present, with Khan Flavia wearing a more ornamental armour symbolizing that she was the ruler in power in that particular period of time. They both had only soldiers guarding them.

It was a clear statement of martial prowess by both of them. The Khans were, after all, the best of the best in Regna Ferox. They did not need protection. The guard clearly knew it too, giving both Emmeryn and Phila a charming, but polite smile, winking jokingly at the two.

And while Emmeryn was clearly amused by the audacity of the gesture, none of her companions took it very well, with her brother tapping Falchion in clear warning while the other three simply scowled in distrust.

The young man's smile strained and visibly took a step back, causing both the Khan to snort in amusement.

"Aiming a bit high, Inigo." Khan Flavia said with a powerful slap on his back, causing the man to laugh awkwardly, not faced by the blow a bit.

"Well, at least it went better than when she tried with you," Basilio commented in mirth, making the female Khan grin savagely at the memory of the event.

The man, Inigo took the teasing in stride, laughing good-naturedly at the event too, saying "Well, yeah, but you know me. A lady has to feel appreciated, and who am I to refuse such a thing?"

Chrom grimaced, while Flavia rolled her eyes dramatically "Yeah, yeah, we know it. But you shouldn't get too chummy with other girls you know? Poor Olivia may get jealous." she admonished with a trace of expectation in her tone.

The expectation was clearly rewarded when the man shivers visibly at the comment, grimacing in clear disgust the comment.

Both the Khans laughed freely at the face, and Emmeryn asked herself what kind of girl would incite such a reaction to him. Was it the physical beauty? Or maybe her nature?

She was distracting herself, she knew it, but it was a good way to distract herself from what was going to happen. The meeting was, after all, something that will change Ylisse, no matter what happens here.

"Ah, rowdy as always, Khan Basilio, Khan Flavia." A new voice joined the conversation. Emmeryn felt her heart skip a beat and saw Chrom tense, his eyes sharpening in anger.

For both of them, the reaction vanished as soon as it came, and the two turned towards the source of the voice.

They saw a pale man, older than Emmeryn by a couple of years. He had vibrant red hair and wore a form-fitting long sleeve shirt, with yellow bracer, a huge belt, and extremely pointy boots.

But the most noticeable things that he had on his person were both his yellow cape and his crown.

It was King Gangrel and, at his side, a woman of similar complexion, wearing a dress mainly in black, that accentuated all the curves of her figures. On her back, a black cape.

She was Archbishop Aversa, head of the Grimleal.

Both of them had two other soldiers with them, for their protection.

The two Khans looked at the King, their smile never fading, "Ah, King Gangrel, good to see you again. I hope things are going well in Plegia? Those new monsters caused a bit of a ruckus for us." Basilio said jovially.

The Plegian king sighed dramatically, posing one hand to his head as if nursing and headache, "Alas, unfortunately, I can't say that. One of my border villages suffered a severe attack, nay, a full invasion of those… Undeads, as they are called. It was only thanks to the valiant effort of my subjects and the timely help of a Grimleal priest that they survived it. But it saddens me to admit that even then, good men have been lost." He said with remorse.

Archbishop Aversa simply smiled at the mention of the intervention of one of her followers, and Emmeryn had to remind herself that Lady Robin did indeed wear a Grimleal coat for all to see.

That was when the Sage decided to interject in the conversation, taking a step towards the other rulers with a calm smile.

"So I heard, King Gangrel. It heartens me to hear that Uror repelled this attack."

The Trickster slowly turned towards the blonde and her group, feigning surprise at their appearance, "Ah… Exalt Emmeryn… Prince Chrom…" he greeted with a feeble voice, his smile as fake as his hurt tone.

"It does not surprise me that you would rejoice at the notice of the death of my subjects," he commented, causing her brother to inhale deeply at the insult, trying to collect himself.

Emmeryn's smile strained but did not react in any other way.

"Yes, a sadistic smile for a sadistic soul… but no matter. I see that… Princess Lissa is not with you." he commented.

Emmeryn made to politely reply to him, but she was interrupted by the doors of the room opening up, showing the entire group the interior of the conference room.

It was as simple as the outside suggested. While big enough to comfortably host the entire group of rulers and entourage, it was otherwise bare, with only a big table for them.

At the toastmaster's position, they could see a redhead figure sitting, her gaze fixed on the group.

The Trickster and the Sage promptly stopped their banter and allowed the Anna that opened the door to take over the conversation.

"Greetings!" She said jovially with a practiced but happy smile, her gaze examining the group with barely hidden amusement. Her gaze fixed on both King Gangrel and Maribelle, and her nose twitched as if she smelt something.

Her smile suddenly became more genuine.

"Thank you for coming to the Archanea's Table. We hope our service was of your liking, Milord, Milady. Now, I would ask you to follow me inside. Lady Anna is ready to receive you." She said.

Both Khan Basilio and Khan Flavia were the first that strolled towards the room, Sir Inigo a couple of steps behind them, smiling at the Anna with the same, flirtatious smirk that he gave to the others.

The Anna winked back.

And with that, another Anna started to call out their names, and the meeting began.

**Author Notes:**

**Greetings people. I'm back with a full chapter. Slightly shorter than the norm, but whatever. I hope it is good. **

**Now, this is one of the two Shepherd chapters before we cut back to Hachiman, so sorry if you are waiting for him. Nothing major happens here and is generally a chapter when I explore the Shepherds more, plus Emmeryn.**

**I have a couple of warnings: I tweaked a bit with all the villains of the game, with both their backstory and motivations, so do not be surprised if they are a bit different from their canon counterpart.**

**Same with the Shepherds, but there shouldn't be anything that changes in them, only a backstory.**

**But I have to ask something: the first part is basically a review of what happened previously. Do you think I should have it cut down, or it is fine as it is?**

**Reviews:**

** woodxvii: I am not sure why, but I have the impression that you got the wrong idea in the difference between Hachiman and the average person in Plegia/Ylisse. Mainly because there is none, in physical abilities. The average person, the average being a simple farmer, is slightly inferior to Hachiman as he is now. **

**The difference between the two is that Hachiman has the Human limit of this world, while a normal person of the FE universe has no such limits.**

**Soldiers would always be better than Hachiman because they have years of training over him against his week of training plus being decently fit. I hope I convey what I mean to say. If it is not clear, do not hesitate and ask.**

** Zathol: I can't answer your questions because they could spoil the story. It will be clear in time. About the OG Robin, well in the game he/she was less dependent on whoever find him/her, and generally being more open to help others. It is different there because she met Hachiman and followed him, taking him as a rock instead of... well Chrom. It shouldn't be spoiler anyway.**

**I hope this chapter is enjoyable.**

** thetyrant67: Thanks, I am happy you are appreciating it! If you can and want I would like if you could point out the grammar and strange phrases. It would help when I revise them and maybe simply don't do them.**

** Laxard: About Grima gender, well, you are wrong, but not in the way we are talking about. If you check Grima past you can understand why, but his/her backstory will be explained in the fic. In future chapters, sure, but will be explained. up to you, really.**

**Nevertheless, I decided to go with the gender of the body Grima uses. It is not that it matters much.**

* * *

The rhythmic sound of metal boots hitting the stone floor was near.

The man did not pay it any mind, choosing to focus on the task, going through the castle of Ylisse in search of his objective.

The guards approached, their steps becoming louder the more they advanced towards their position, and the man's breathing softened, becoming almost silent, but his eyes did not stop scanning the hallways of the castle of Ylisstol, his mind dismissing the presence of the two knights as nothing to be concerned about.

The redhead thief glanced lazily at the two guards, a man and a woman who were talking between themselves, their eyes never really searching for any kind of intruder.

Geez, talk about being lax. He did not even try to hide in the shadows of armour or on the ceiling, and they did not even notice him.

This was the best that Ylisse had to offer?

Gaius shook his head in slight disappointment, and, right on cue, the air around him shimmered.

Six other people appeared in various points of the hallway, three of them wearing the Grimleal coat, while the rest were other thieves that also accepted this job offer.

"Piece of cake." One of the other thieves, a big person that he wouldn't bother to remember his name –let's call him Biggie- said cockily with a smug smile.

He was wrong of course. Stealing cake was far more difficult that one would expect.

Really, people were incredibly stingy about them, more often than not guarding them as closely as one would with a vault. As they should.

Sweets are the best creation that the Gods have bestowed humanity.

"We should have killed them." One of the Grimleals muttered, even if everyone present heard his words.

"It is better not to." Gaius commented offhandedly, interrupting the fanatic group before they could reply.

"Bodies are easily discoverable, and your killing methods are not clean. You will cause us to be discovered in no time." The thief explained with a bored glance at the group.

The red-head and the three Grimleals stared at each other, and while their visage was obscured by a mix of their hood and magic, the thief knew that they were glaring at him to dare to argue with them.

He wanted to roll his eyes. Fanatics. The most problematic of customers.

"… you heard him. Let's keep the cleaning down for now," the older and head of this little group said with barely concealed venom in his voice. "Let's split up. You guys take what you want, we will see each other in half an hour."

And, saying that, the three Grimleals vanished from sight, their bodies hidden away by their fancy magic.

Pity they sucked in everything else. All three of them could hear not only their steps but also the rustling of their oversized tunics.

The only girl of the remaining group snorted and shook her head.

"Idiots." She said at the two of us. Biggie gave a curt nod, smiling slightly at the insult, and Gaius could not help the quiet chuckle that escaped his lips.

With a glance of confirmation, the three of them split and went in different directions.

Honestly, those fanatics weren't as subtle as they thought they were. Because, seriously?

Just vanishing like that?

He shook his head again, waiting in a corner to hear voices or footsteps from the other hallway.

They wanted to get them caught. There was no way around it. They wanted the group to be seen and be a distraction for them to take whatever they wanted from here. Maybe then the group could even be accused of stealing whatever they wanted.

So simple.

Gaius reached the kitchen and checked inside the room. He frowned, seeing that at least three people were there, despite the late hour.

Still manageable, but more difficult than expected.

He sneaked into the room, waiting for them to disperse.

Luck had one of them leave the kitchen without noticing him, leaving just a butler and a house cleaner there. They were… cooking?

Maybe it was for the guards or something. It was not important.

With the two distracted on the stoves, Gaius slowly moved towards one of the pantries, his eyes never leaving the two workers in case one of them would move and spot him.

It did not happen, and he reached the destination without a hitch.

Slowly opening the door, his eyes shined at the goods inside. Bingo.

Sweets. His noise and instincts guided him directly to the stocks of sweets of the castle. Just as planned.

He didn't cackle, if only because there were people that could spot him, but, with his fingers twitching, the man took as many of the delicious goods as he could, sacking them.

He did not take everything though, he left some space so he could take other goods from the castle, even if this time, of the more valuable variant.

So he could buy what he needed to survive.

Being undercover, he couldn't really take something recognizable like a vase or a portrait. Especially with the latter generally being big and bulky, a pain to hide and transport.

What he did take was some of the more exotic silverware and other more common, but small, objects that could be easily missed if someone did not make a constant inventory of it.

When he could not take more and hinder his movement in case he needed to escape, being from the castle guards or –to be honest—those fanatics, he went towards the meeting point, easily avoiding the eyes of the knights.

He felt partially bad, honestly. This entire thing felt extremely easy to do, with the bulk of the castle's force being with the Exalt at the meeting with the Khans, the Archbishop, and the Mad King.

Oh well, serves them right. They should really upgrade the defenses here, or someone could easily steal some really important stuff. He saw better security in a common house, really.

The others were waiting for him. He approached them with a lazy smile, a newly stolen lollipop in his lips.

Strawberries, he noticed. A classic, but classics were always appreciated.

He glanced at the group, noticing that the other two thieves –Biggie and Nebby—had the same idea of taking little things, their sacks relatively small.

On the other hand, the Grimleals were not as subtle, taking big things like ceremonial jewellery, a portrait, and a shield, of all things.

"Good everyone is here. Let's get out of here. Follow me." The boss of the group said with a satisfied smirk, eyeing them in a really creepy way. How subtle.

Gaius looked at the other two, their faces showing they felt the same danger he had.

"About that…" the Thief drawled, shrugging seemingly carelessly "… we will go our separate ways. We don't particularly need the payment, the raid here was rath-"

He didn't have the time to finish the excuse when one of the fanatics tried to blast him with a particularly nasty-looking curse at his head.

Called it.

"You really are horrible at this, you know?" He called out, starting to run in a different direction than his two comrades of misfortune for this wonderful day.

The reason was simple. They wanted to silence them, so obviously they would need to thin themselves if they wanted to kill all of them, making it simple enough for them to simply run away or kill them if they were particularly persistent.

And, wouldn't you know it, one of them was following him outside the castle.

He glanced at the younger Grimleal and dodged another badly aimed curse to his side.

Well, this is what is called a piece of cake.

Now, where exactly is the meeting? He was sure the Exalt would love to know about this.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sadly, It Was All For Naught.**

Luckily for everyone present in the room, the round of presentation was a quick affair.

Not because it was less pompous as any other royal court, but more because the people of importance were barely counted on one hand.

Even him, the Prince of Ylisse, was simply accounted as part of the package of the Exalt's escort, as was the case for both Archbishop Aversa for King Gangrel and Khan Basilio for Khan Flavia.

The three rulers were situated on each side of the table, with their escort dutifully standing at their side, some of which gazing at the other in an attempt to intimidate the other, some simply looking alert, or others just plainly disinterested.

The tension in the air was palpable, despite the smiling and relaxed visage of his sister and the Archbishop.

King Gangrel, while not openly hostile to anyone, was clearly closing them off, glancing absently at the other rulers in the room with barely hidden irritation or outright anger. Meanwhile, the Khans only looked relaxed, but any accomplished warrior could notice the tensed body the trio from Regna Ferox had.

Maybe it was because of all the tension in the room that, despite the presence of the three rulers of the Archanean's kingdoms, it was Lady Anna that started the meeting.

"Very well. With the pleasantries accounted for, it is time to start this emergency summit." She declared. Her voice wasn't as boisterous as the Anna who announced all of them, but everyone present focused only on her nevertheless.

Even Chrom himself didn't dare to doze off this event like he usually would at the castle, giving his full attention to the woman.

"I believe the main point of this meeting is to discuss the new problem that fell on us in the last months, the now named Risens… or Undeads." She said without any inflection in her voice, prompting a round of graceful nods or more stern grunts from the listeners.

"I am sure all of us have done something to research about them in hopes to exterminate this threat as fast as possible. Gods know they are not problematic for my family." She added grimacing with barely noticeable annoyance, and Chrom could hear a quiet grumble from one of the Annas on the back.

All it took for it to stop was a pointed look from what basically was the matriarch of the family, and the younger merchant did not emit any sound.

"I suggest all of us would now exchange what we know with each other, in the hope to paint a clearer picture for all of us." She proposed cautiously.

None answered her, and in the silence that followed, Chrom could feel the tension rising from the group, much to the prince's frustration.

This was it. This was the time to act, it was not the time for political games. This should be the moment where everyone agrees that they had a big, common problem and starts to cooperate.

But none talked, the three rulers sizing themselves, waiting for the first one to speak. Chrom had to wonder why Emmeryn did not start to talk. They had plenty of information after all and sharing them would be the key to securing cooperation with the other nations.

So why didn't she?

A grunt caught everyone's attention, and everyone focused their gazes on the source; Khan Flavia. Showing the group a confident smirk, she said, "Seems good Lady Anna."

Shrugging, the tanned lied down on her back on the chair, trying to give the impression that she was getting herself comfortable.

"Regna Ferox doesn't know much. We do know that they are definitely hard to put under the dirt again. Only very selective moves can kill those bastards for good. Behead them, destroy their masks, or pierce the heart. Everything else would only slow them down." she explained.

The Prince and the Exalt simply nodded, already knowing what the Khan just explained. Gangrel wasn't as polite and visibly sneered at the lack of new information given.

Khan Flavia graciously ignored him and added: "That is all we knew before your girl gave us the extra information on the letter." She said.

Hearing that, Chrom blinked dumbly, his mouth opening in an attempt to say something. He wasn't the only one confused, obviously. Even his sister showed a slightly raised eyebrow for a couple of seconds before her eyes widened in comprehension, and the confusion morphed in a satisfied smile.

"Excuse me Khan Flavia, but I have not been informed of this letter. Would you mind elaborating?" Lady Anna instead questioned, the earlier neutrality replaced by a sudden interest.

The dark-skinned woman grinned back, straightening her back at the notice "You didn't, uh? Well, this letter was delivered by one of your girls, and told us about a particular species of Risen called Deadlord and described the attack at Uror. I thought you were behind it, old fox." She said, her mood visibly improving. She looked clearly intrigued by the discovery that the mitten, well mittens of the letters, were not under Lady Anna's payroll.

Lady Anna made to reply, but she was interrupted by Gangrel, who caught everyone's attention with a small but loud laugh. Turning to him, everyone could see the satisfaction on both him and Archbishop Aversa, who was showing a small smile herself.

"Yes, I had such a letter too. Robin, the authoress of such important and vital pieces of information, is one of my beloved subjects." He explained with an exaggerated amount of pride that irked the prince.

Chrom was, in truth, a bit saddened by the news. The couple of times he met her, she showed a kind heart and a keen mind that he would have loved to have in Ylisse. That Gangrel recognized her effort and claimed her as his own subject… it was a shame, really.

But at least, Chrom thought, with the support of the King, the girl could find her family more easily and her memories.

"Yes Khan Flavia, Lady Anna. Priestess Robin is a long-time follower of the Church of Grima. It heartens me to hear that one of ours used her intellect to help our neighbors." The Archbishop added, her voice low and sultry.

"It seems that Lady Robin had the wisdom to spread her discoveries to every Kingdom of Archanea then." His sister added in what he knew was an extremely pleased tone.

Chrom could understand why. He himself did not think about it, but he could see now that giving everyone the same information was a smart move. With that, she showed that both Plegia and the Grimleals were open to sharing information, essentially elevating the two groups from a potential enemy to allies.

Gangrel clicked his tongue but did not add anything that could convey his disposition on the matter.

The redhead matriarch leaned back on the chair, humming non-committedly at what was clearly new information to her.

"It seems I am the only one that lacks such information." Lady Anna admitted easily. Her face shifted from slight interest to an amused expression while saying this, and her gaze wandered over all the people who sat on the various chairs, waiting for them to reply.

It was his sister that, after a second of silence, decided to explain to her what they knew.

"As Lady Flavia said, the letter told us the short invasion that befell the border village of Uror. The sender was Lady Robin of Plegia, a Grimleal priestess that wandered there with her escorts and was caught in the middle of it." The Exalt explained, her voice high enough that everyone in the room could clearly hear her even, the people who were not involved in the discussion.

As expected from his sister, she did not give any sign of calling off the bluff that the King Gangrel and Archbishop Aversa set up, preferring to keep the situation at their advantage.

She was hoping that it would be enough to keep the Plegian King settled and more inclined to cooperate if she actively antagonized them.

"The letter was full of details of the events. I will spare them for the sake of brevity and the new discoveries surrounding the Undead phenomena. I am sure we can provide you with one of the letters in the near future." She continued to explain, and the matriarch of the merchant family simply nodded in understanding, making a small gesture for the Exalt to continue.

Nobody batted an eye at the frankly ridiculously disrespectful scene that happened. The prince himself only blinked at the audacity that the woman showed towards what was one of the supreme authority of the country, while Maribelle, at his side, visibly tensed at the show.

It was unusual to see this kind of scene, at least**,** for it to happen to his sister.

"The first thing that should be said is that with this letter we have proof that the Undead, as the name implies, are the bodies of our deceased ancestors. Lady Robin told of a particular kind of Undead, named Deadlord by her, that reacted at the presence of one of the soldiers that fought during the invasion. After shattering the mask of this new species of enemy, it was confirmed that the body of the Deadlord belonged to the late mother of said soldier." Emmeryn explained concisely, maintaining an air of dignity and elegance.

She paused for a moment, waiting for intervention from both Lady Anna or the other rulers. She only received various nods or grunts of acknowledgment, prompting her to continue with the explanation.

"The second point to make is the sight of the new kind of enemy just named, the Deadlord. Up until now, the Ylissean forces had various skirmish or brief battles against the Undeads. As previously said by Khan Flavia, they had various weak points but were otherwise difficult to dispose of. While this Deadlord had the same weakness, and possibly the same of his weaker kind, this foe was described to be on a whole other level physically speaking. Not only could it be mistaken for a masked human by its behavior, but it was even capable of easily… disposing… Plegian soldiers with relative ease, akin to a war veteran." She explained, his sister's voice wavering just for a moment during the entire description of the events.

Chrom heard a low chuckle from one of the other seats, and while the others did not seem to bother in acknowledging it, the prince could not help but follow the sound.

It was King Gangrel, and Chrom did not particularly appreciate the mocking way he was watching his sister.

His eyes shot wide open, and the swordsman was ready to give him a piece of his mind, but thankfully, he restrained himself.

It would not be good to start a quarrel on this, especially here.

Exhaling as quietly as possible, he reluctantly diverted his eyes from the other King, his visage falling into a practiced mask of indifference, deciding to focus only on the words Emmeryn was saying to the others.

"The last, and most important fact that could be gathered by this attack, is that there has to be someone behind it. Up until now, the Undeads the Ylissean forces fought were small groups of easily fooled monsters with no reason or tactics. We can all agree that this was no mindless attack and more of a siege." She concluded, prompting all the people around her to give various degrees of agreement.

"In short, you are saying that this is a planned invasion." Khan Basilio intervened, learning towards the table with a big, excited smile. Khan Flavia looked at him exasperated but Chrom had the impression that she was much the same, judging by the brief fickle of emotion in her eyes.

She simply was more subdued in showing it.

Emmeryn hesitated for only a moment, before she gave a solemn nod, "Yes."

A heavy silence fell on the room, helping the words settle inside everyone's mind.

From where he stood, Chrom could see Maribelle's grim expression of realization at the words just exchanged. King Gangrel actually seemed angered at the idea of such an invasion, while Archbishop Aversa had a neutral and stiff face.

It was, once again, Lady Anna who broke the silence.

Up until now she had her eyes closed, seemingly in contemplation of the revelations shared by the group.

"It seems that I heavily misunderstood the situation. An invasion…," she trailed off, her eyes scanning the room and dwelling on every person in the room.

"While I believe that trusting the words of a single woman can be dangerous, I cannot dismiss the fact that the village of Uror has been, in fact, invaded by some demonic force." She said lowly, irking not only the Prince himself but King Gangrel too, whose scowl deepened.

"Do you think that I am lying?" The redhead king asked with a mix of anger and, strangely enough, hurt betrayal in his voice.

Everyone seemed to catch on that because Chrom could see the various expressions of surprise and confusion on the others.

Emmeryn's expression faded as soon as she saw one of his fellow rulers' gaze shift back to another direction.

The swordsman tried to do the same and follow her lead, but he wasn't sure how well he concealed his surprise at that burst of emotion.

Chrom still felt the confusion, after all, even when Lady Anna replied to him.

"Foolish boy. Do not see my words as a personal attack." The matriarch admonished the King with a low, but strict tone.

"But to simply base all of our information on a single source is not an error we should make, especially in a situation as delicate as the one we are living." She explained, her eyes locking with her fellow redhead's.

Instead of giving her a scratching remark, King Gangrel instead simply looked away after a moment, reminding the prince of himself when his sister found him doing something that he knew she wouldn't approve of.

The image conjured by that thought had the unexpected effect of making the blue-haired prince less tense at the situation at hand.

Lady Anna's gaze roamed all the room again, adding, "That is why I am weary of this letter. A single source of information is a gift of the gods, but I lack the ability to confirm such information and deduction." She explained easily.

The two Khans nodded in understanding, but their expression did not seem to change from the newly added input. Chrom had to wonder if it was because they were already experienced in this kind of meeting, or because they held the same doubts from the beginning. Curiously, their guard did not share the same sentiment of the two Khans, seemingly frustrated by the intervention of the matriarch.

Emmeryn followed their example, giving her a silent understanding of the reasoning used by the older merchant and did not reply immediately, likely as if debating something in her mind.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment and exhaled slowly, a small sign of her irritation or, more accurately at the moment, nervousness at what she was going to do.

"Ylisse is willing to support the trustworthiness of those sources." She declared clearly, her voice only slightly raised from the usual tone she used up until now.

Her words seemed to lit the interest of all the people in the room, with Khan Flavia raising an eyebrow at the Exalt's words while King Gangrel furrowed his brow in slight irritation.

Archbishop Aversa simply looked curious at the statement and settled to simply observe the events with the same smile she always wore up until now.

On the other hand, Lady Anna seemed to hold back from sighing and decided to address the Exalt with a curious, if clearly skeptic, expression.

"That seems slightly hasty, Exalt Emmeryn. Do you have any kind of support for your declaration beside your well-known goodwill?" She asked, much to the Prince's irritation at her words.

Chrom understood why Lady Anna had such doubts.

Since her coronation, his sister always had the reputation of being an extremely kind and lenient ruler, especially if compared against the latest Exalt that Ylisse had in the past decades; such reputation was something that both Emmeryn, Lissa, and himself held with a great amount of pride.

That did not mean, however, that his sister was as foolish as that comment seemed to imply.

Chrom's irritation was not hidden by the focused facade that he built to pay attention and understand what was going around him, but none seemed to see, or maybe simply care of his visible burst of anger.

None except Maribelle, of course, who too had shown a disapproving frown to the redhead merchant, but had simply dissipated it as soon as it manifested. The duchess hummed lowly to catch his attention, trying to distract the prince from his emotions.

The very low sound had the intended effect, and Chrom looked back at his comrade, his frown still visible but clearly less pronounced now that he was addressed to her.

Maribelle did not say anything, simply breaking her gaze to look back at the table of the summit with the same neutral and dignified expression.

Chrom followed her example, scolding his face in a similar if clearly inferior manner, just in time to hear his sister answer as calmly as before, completely unaffected by the merchant words.

"Of course Lady Anna. After all, we do personally know Lady Robin and one of her… guards." She said with a small, amused smile. Chrom could not help the same amusement that his sister displayed, catching on what was probably their inner joke.

Guard uh… it was something that Mr. Hachiman could be called, in a way.

"You do?" King Gangrel immediately asked, interrupting Lady Anna before she could answer the blonde ruler's affirmation.

Emmeryn nodded, her amusement turned in what seemed like a fond smile.

"Yes. Lady Robin and her guard visited my court the day after the first wave of Undead. They were both proved by the sudden invasion, and they sought refuge in Ylisstol. I had the pleasure to talk with both of them, and I can confirm Lady Robin's sharp intuitions. I have no shame admitting that all the known weak points and tactics that Ylisse uses against the Undead have been suggested by her. " She explained with a cheerful smile.

"That is why, after witnessing both their characters, I am more than happy to give them the complete support of the Exalt line." She concluded, resting her hands on her laps.

Chrom smiled and nodded to himself, satisfied with how Emmeryn replied to that particularly irritating accusation.

"Then if both the Exalt and Prince Chrom voice for their credibility, then Regna Ferox is willing to trust this Robin. What do you say old man?" Kahn Flavia immediately supported her after she observed the Ylisseans' reaction.

The dark-skinned man grinned sardonically, with only his eyes shining in cheerfulness, "You know you are the one in charge, Flavia. Is your age finally catching up to you?" He joked back good naturally, before shrugging uncaringly.

"I will trust your judgment on this. You may be a fool, but you got a good instinct with people." Basilio answered before the regent Khan could insult him back, looking at the Exalt with an expression that Chrom could not fully understand, something like a mix of hesitation and resignation.

Chrom thought it was because he did not really know both him and his sister, and had to follow the lead of his female co-leader.

"You're damn right. You heard him, old fox. Regna Ferox will trust both Lady Robin and the Plegians with those pieces of information." Khan Flavia concluded with a satisfied smile.

Lady Anna watched over every person at the table, dwelling for a brief moment over Chrom himself before turning her focus on King Gangrel.

"Perfect. If none of you have ill faith in the sources of this information, then we can use them to draft a starting point for our combined research against these monsters and the mastermind behind it. " She concluded, giving the group a small smile.

"Well for once, I have to say that this business smells like dark magic stuff to me. A particularly powerful and nasty one too." Khan Basilio threw in immediately, causing everyone in the room to give their silent approval in the conjecture.

Predictably, King Gangrel tensed at the words, as if waiting for an accusation from any of them as the brain of the invasion.

None came, however, as the group simply continued their speculation without giving him either a look or sign of hostility.

"I agree. I do believe that the power necessary for this kind of ritual can be only mustered by an ancient being like the old manaketes of tales, or people like the Voice of Naga." Emmeryn continued to say.

"But the dragons vanished millennials ago, and the remaining manaketes lack the power to do such a thing themselves. Did Naga decide to punish us all for some slight?" King Gangrel asked rhetorically, looking at the Exalt line with a toothy grin, mustering back the cockiness and impudence shown at the start of the meeting.

Chrom's first instinct was to scream at him for the accusation: after all, if that was the case, this would mean that the Exalt line somehow caused the Goddess' ire.

But he did restrain himself again, settling with a hot, if short, angry glare to him.

They both made eye contact at that moment, and Chrom would swear that the stupid smile became smugger when their eyes met, almost mocking him for his reaction.

Chrom broke eye-contact when he heard his sister reply, unfazed by the accusation, "Possible." she admitted easily, "But highly improbable. Lady Tiki would have given some sort of message or prophecy if that was the case, to announce her anger instead of the Goddess. Both I and the Church of Naga do know hat Lady Tiki has been asleep for the last years and has yet to awaken." she explained flawlessly.

King Gangrel graciously accepted the rebuke with a theatrical nod and an ample gesture that asked forgiveness and, much to the prince's pleasure, everyone ignored his behavior.

"Eh, you are probably right. Lady Naga never openly interfered with us mortals if we did not call her aid first if what legends say is true. And seeing how I didn't hear of any kind of divine intervention in recent recorded history, I am inclined to believe that." The regent Khan commented while relaxing on her chair.

Khan Basilio grinned and tilted his head towards the red-head matriarch, "What did your girls say from Valm, old fox?" He asked half-jokingly, causing the older merchant to grimace.

That seemed to put both the Khans and King Gangrel on edge, seemingly recognizing her reaction.

"As far as I know, Lady Tiki is still in her… holy slumber." She said with a hint of amusement that confused both Chrom and probably Emmeryn too, but he did not see anything malicious in that.

"But that leads me to, unfortunately, bear grave news from the other lands." She said tiredly, placing her arms on the table.

That seemed to alarm Emmeryn, who followed the other leaders' example and looked way tenser than the moment before.

"Since three days ago, it has become extremely difficult for us to maintain reliable contact with Valm." Lady Anna admitted with an irritated frown.

"Did the Undead's appearance trouble the nation?" Emmeryn immediately asked worried, between the various gasps and surprised grunts of the people inside the room.

Lady Anna clicked her tongue and shook her head in clear anger. "Nothing as extreme, Exalt Emmeryn. Just a foolish man with a desire of grandeur." She replied a leak of irritation filtering in her tone despite the composure showed up until now.

"What do you mean?" King Gangrel asked almost threateningly, glaring at the matriarch.

Lady Anna did not mind the reaction of the Plegian ruler, and without even flinching at the emotional gaze, she continued, "A man by the name of Walhart started a campaign to conquer the entire continent, and in three days successfully finished all of the west border and islands, cutting off communications with all merchants. I can still contact my family, but we will not be able to exchange merch with Valm until the ban is lifted."

Khan Flavia whistled while her counterpart chuckled at the explanation, both impressed by the admittedly courageous -Chrom had the impression they would call it differently- move of this Walhart.

"He did not interrupt his campaign despite the invasion?" Emmeryn asked with a worried frown, ignoring the reactions of the others.

The head of the merchant family gave a tired sigh, closed her eyes and shook her head, causing his sister's frown to deepen.

Chrom gritted his teeth and made him intervene to ask the red-head more information, but King Gangrel anticipated him before he could, "Trying to conquer the entire continent in one go uh… I bet we are the next target once he finishes.'' He sneered heatedly, tapping his fingers on the table, clearly irritated.

Khan Flavia shrugged and gave a boisterous laugh, "If that is the case, we just have to repel the newbie. Piece of cake.", patting harshly the back of her fellow Khan, who grinned back in mirth.

"No." Was instead Emmeryn's reply to that hypothesis, and she shook her head to reinforce her claim, "We do not know if that is the case. We cannot assume hostile intentions." She retorted.

"Ah, excuse us to dirty your innocent ears, Holy Exalt." King Gangrel mocked, giving a fake bow despite still sitting on his chair. "But I learned long ago that there is no limit to human depravity. It was your father to teach me that, after all. I assumed you learned the lesson too. Pardon me for assuming such a thing." He added, giving a contemptuous smile to crown the insult.

Emmeryn twitched in discomfort, and Chrom heard his fellow Shepheard gasp a bit too loudly at the harsh words, and he could almost feel the indignation from the healer at his side.

Chrom could understand it. He felt much the same way, and once again, was ready to give that utter bastard a piece off his mind when Lady Anna defused the situation, again, raising sharply her hand to catch everyone's attention.

Chrom felt a mix of gratefulness and irritation at the interruption, but the sudden interjection was enough to stop him from being rash.

"Unfortunately, I have to confirm King Gangrel's statement." The merchant said, much to his sister invisible displeasure.

"My girls heard rumors of Walhart and his ways. It is highly probable that, if he succeeded in conquering the entirety of Valm, he would set his goal with the entirety of Archanea." she confirmed gravely.

Silence fell on the room, all the leaders deciding to ponder on the new information shared by the merchant.

"In short, we have not only to deal with both the Undead's invasion and find the people behind it, we even have to think about a new megalomaniac that wants to conquer us in the next years?" Khan Basilio summarised, being the first to break the silence.

"That is correct." Lady Anna confirmed easily.

"Any chance that the two events are connected?" The blonde Khan instead asked after her pause.

Chrom blinked dumbly at the idea thrown out, and hummed thoughtfully, rolling the possibility in his mind. After all, it was a good guess. If really this Walhart wished to conquer their continent, it was possible that, if this man was planning everything from enough time, he could have organized everything to destabilize us.

"It is possible…" Archbishop Aversa opinionated for the first time, evidently agreeing with the thoughts of the Ylissean prince. "If this Walhart can create them, then he can surely control them and evade their attacks." She elaborated, giving them a sultry smile when she finished.

It was a reasonable explanation, Valm was, from the little he did know, shattered in various little kingdoms that were independent of each other. Walhart could use the undead to destabilize them and then conquer them easily.

"It is indeed a possibility, but we did not hear of such a… strong-willed man in the last years. I do not believe that he could have maintained a low profile if he had enough Dark Mages to pull off such feats." King Gangrel rebuked mockingly, causing the Archbishop to grimace.

"...true." She conceded reluctantly.

"And that takes us back to our immediate problem." Emmeryn intervened, interrupting the debate.

"Even if this Walhart is behind the attack. He is a continent away, and no amount of power could summon such beings in high numbers from that far of a distance." She said, gazing at every ruler in wait for someone to interrupt.

"As a Sage myself, I can easily say that such a feat would need the power of the Goddess herself, and only a massive amount of humans could pull it off. A number that it would be impossible to gather without anyone noticing. I do believe that the ones responsible are to be found here in Archanea." The Exalt explained.

Both the Khans more simply gave their understanding with a couple of grunts while King Gangrel scoffed, and, judging from the angered look he gave the Exalt, he was going to reply with another sarcastic remark.

"Even if that is true, we would need to keep an eye on this Walhart to see how and when he will react. Can we count on you, Lady Anna?" Khan Basilio anticipated him, looking at the older redhead with his only eye.

"Of course not." Was the Matriarch's immediate reply to the question, and that quick and sure answer confused Chrom enough to make him break his self imposed silence.

"Uh?"

Thankfully for him, people either ignored or did not hear him, because Khan Flavis tsked in disappointment at the reply, and muttered an audible, "Figures.", loud enough for everyone to hear.

"While I will research if the kid is behind the summoning of the Undead, everything else not related to that will be kept under wraps. Walhart's army is one of our customers after all, and speaking such information will significantly reduce our business." She explained matter of factly, much to the Prince's dismay.

Surprisingly, everyone simply accepted the answer without any more fuss, simply shrugging off the frankly absurd reasoning.

How could she simply ignore the fact that a man was trying to conquer Archanea?

Even his sister did not seem particularly surprised or thrown off by the explanation.

Sensing his rising temper, both Emmeryn and, strangely enough, Maribelle, looked at him and made a sign of silence, preventing him from speaking up and protesting the decision.

The Exalt focused back on the meeting, while Maribelle instead subtly caught his attention back to her with a low cough and started whispering, "I know how you feel, Lord Chrom. But this was expected. Merchants can't take sides in conflicts. It is a risky move either if they choose the winning side or the defeated one." She reasoned calmly.

Chrom exhaled, and slowly nodded, trying to gain, again, his composure and calm attitude.

He hated to admit it, but Maribelle was right. Normally, the Annas would have never called this kind of meeting between the three Archaneas Kingdoms, even if a total war threatened to break out.

It did not happen years ago when his… _father_ started his crusade, and he never heard of such a meeting happening in recent history. The fact that Lady Anna personally called it showed her willingness to cooperate against this new and inhuman threat.

That was more than enough. He didn't really believe it, but it was enough for both Emmeryn and Maribelle.

And while sometimes he did not approve of his sister's decisions, this time he would. Plus, Maribelle was a dear friend, and she too, despite the great respect she held for the Ruler of Ylisse, shared more of his ideas.

If both of them believed that this was the best way, he would trust them.

"Bah! Fine! We'll make do without you." King Gangrel snapped, glaring… actually petulantly more than heatedly at her.

"That's the spirit, Gangrel!" Kan Basilio complimented while laughing merrily, slamming one hand on the table.

"The first order of business is to locate the base of operation of the bastards. Can you guys estimate the number of our enemies?" The bald Khan continued, looking between both Emmeryn and the Archbishop.

The tanned girl hummed loud enough for everyone to know that she was thinking about the request, until she finally set to say, "At minimum, they would need fifteen high-level Sorcerers. At least as powerful as me or our Lady Exalt." She explained, smiling invitingly at the group.

"I personally knew few people that would qualify with such a level of power, not more than three High Priests and Priestesses in the Church of Naga. Such level is not easily obtained, and to have even ten of them hidden… it is unfeasible. Even if they came from Valm recently, they should have been spotted." Emmeryn interjected politely.

Khan Basilio grunted and scratched his bald head, saying "I dunno much about mages, but from the really boring reports I had during my time as Khan, very few people coming from Valm decided to stay and I don't know if they were mages." He explained sheepishly.

"Useless old man." Khan Flavia rubbed in jokingly, sighing in exasperation, "So it is possible that our group may be more than fifteen. High numbers to cover for the lack of power, right?" she asked, looking at the prince's sister.

Chrom had to agree with her. His sister wasn't the most powerful mage in Ylisse, but she was still one of the best that the Kingdom had to offer, especially because she wasn't combat-oriented.

That those people used numbers to cover for their lack of power was the most reasonable explanation that he could come up with.

That is why he was surprised when his sisters shook her head.

"It is not that simple. Performing a ritual in a group is extremely complicated. To have even thirty people that can chant perfectly synchronized, manipulate their men in the exact same manner without disrupting the other… it is possible, but highly risky and difficult." She explained gravely, making the Archbishop smile in agreement.

"The Exalt is right, of course. Even being generous, there can't be more than fifty people, probably less." Aversa confirmed confidently.

"So we have at best a group of… let's say, fifty mages running amok in Archanea, at worst, fifteen highly skilled individuals." Lady Anna summarized grimly, biting her lips in thought.

Despite having a very scarce idea on how accurate everything would be, Chrom believed that it was a decent assessment of the situation with the little information they had at their disposal.

"We would need to search through our kingdoms for them. A gathering of mages that numerous is bound to leave traces to follow." The blue-haired prince heard from Khan Basilio, the idea causing a round of affirmation between the group.

But again, Chrom remembered the other possibility that Marth presented them a couple of months ago when both him, Robin and Hachiman were at the table.

Even with those conjectures, human involvement seemed admittedly improbable and Emm did say that such an amount of power would need the intervention of The Voice of Naga or someone similar.

"Uhm, Emm?" The swordsman called out, catching the attention of his elder sister, who turned to him with a slight disappointed look.

Chrom smiled awkwardly in answer, knowing that he really shouldn't interrupt such an important discussion, but he believed that it was somewhat important and related to the conversation.

"So, what about what Marth warned us? Do you think we should share with them or…" he asked his sister, who hummed in understanding at the idea, not completely dismissing it.

Chrom tried to be as discreet as possible and do not interrupt the other rulers. It wasn't enough, but most of the people were kind enough to let the two converse.

King Gangrel was not one of them.

"And what are the blessed Exalt line talking about behind our back? Are that secret information that are not for the rest of us common folks?" The Plegian ruler mocked with a hurt expression, glancing venomously at the two.

Emmeryn closed her eyes and exhaled tiredly at the jab, and Chrom was sure that she would have rubbed her head in frustration if she was in a more friendly setting.

Instead, she simply opened her eyes again and, ignoring the insult of the king, she answered "My brother decided to remember me of another hypothesis that was presented to us about a possible origin of this cataclysm. It is, however, something with few basis in reality and more of a wild conjecture."

Khan Flavia smiled at Chrom and shrugged "Well, I'd say we hear it anyway. We do not really know anything, and besides, I owe the kid's judgment for five years of rule on Regna Ferox." She proposed in support of the prince.

Khan Basilio lowly grumbled at the umpteenth reminder of his defeat but did not vote against the idea.

King Gangrel smiled sweetly at them, and fakely encouraged them, "Yes, let's hear the young prince's wisdom."

Emmeryn looked at the host of the meeting for permission to talk, and Lady Anna, despite the insecure expression, rewarded her with a nod.

Emmeryn frowned, clearly hesitant to speak of the idea, but after a bit of hesitation, she explained demurely, "It has been pointed out to us that, if the Goddess or her Voice did not have any connection with the events, it doesn't mean that something with similar powers could not be behind it."

Lady Anna raised her eyebrows in skepticism and mulled over his sister's words, before replying, "You suspect that another Divine Dragon may be behind this? That is… impossible. The Dragons left this world from time immemorial. If legends are to be believed, most of them went extinct after a civil war."

"True," Emmeryn admitted. "But we already established that those Undead are corpses of our honorable ancestors. There is still the possibility that this is the work of a revitalized Divine Dragon."

The older merchant did not seem convinced by the explanation and, by the looks of it, neither where the other rulers.

Chrom could not really blame them. Even the swordsman himself would not consider the idea if he didn't hear from the lips of Marth. Despite being a man with lots of mysteries behind him, Chrom believed that he was an honest man.

If he told them that the Fell Dragon was behind the events, it was because he truly believed such. Nevertheless, that did not mean that he and his sister would take his words as truth, especially without a way to back it up.

"We'll keep that in mind if we come across something that points in that direction." Khan Flavia intervened. She too didn't seem convinced of the idea, but she was at least willing to consider it.

As Marth said to them, that was more than enough.

"Maybe it was Grima? I mean, he is the so-called dragon of death and destruction, right?" A new voice interjected with a tone of amusement, and everyone in the room turned towards the lone soldier that followed the two Khans, who up until now, stood in silence and was simply hearing the discussion.

Sir Inigo smiled brightly when all the attention of the room fell on him and the stares of the most powerful people of Archanea did not make him cower or even flinch. Even when the reigned Khan glared harder at him he did not seem to regret the intervention.

Instead, Chrom could see the clear hint of vindictive satisfaction in his eyes. For what, he could not know.

"So that is it? You are telling me that this is all Plegia's fault?" King Gangrel snapped, his more neutral face twisting in sudden rage at the accusation.

The Plegian's eye moved between Inigo and Emmeryn, his scowl deepening at every passing second.

"Of course not." the Exalt immediately intervened, trying to subdue the redhead king.

"Oh, forgive me, of course not!" the Trickster mocked in a fake feminine voice. He then fixated his angered gaze on Chrom, and the prince could see something snap inside him.

Turning violently to glare at the East-Khan, Gangrel shot up and growled "So Christian's spawn gives you the throne and in exchange you attack me here? That was the deal _Khan Flavia_?" He accused angrily, his hand going towards the sword on his hips.

Everyone tensed at the movement, and Chrom's hand immediately went for his trusted Falchion and positioned himself in front of his sister, mentally cursing at how quickly the situation went out of hand.

Chrom saw Sir Inigo follow his lead and prepared himself for a fight, and he heard more than saw every other guard doing the same, even recognizing the sound of Frederick's Silver Lance behind him.

Chrom had honestly forgotten that his mentor and Phila were inside the room, too absorbed by the conversation in fact, but he was glad to have such strong allies to help him protect both Emmeryn and Maribelle.

"Watch your mouth brat." The blonde Khan replied back. Despite the words, the tone wasn't one of anger, but she did have a threatening subtext in it that everyone could clearly understand. "The only agreement we had with Ylisse was about helping them with repelling the Undead. You or your kingdom had no matter in that. Do not insult me. Such tactics are beneath me and the old oaf." She said, her eyes locked in a contest of will with the Plegian King's.

That was not what the Trickster wanted to hear, judging by how strongly he gripped the handle of the sword.

Khan Basilio smiled widely at the display, and he slowly erected himself in all of his height. The action was simple, but the threat was strongly implied.

Lady Anna punched the table violently, creating a loud sound that normally would have forced the people to look at her, but in that situation she was only rewarded with deep silence. Nobody left his own weapon, everyone still prepared in the case someone would come to blow.

"**Stop this nonsense, fools**." The matriarch ordered severely, her voice rumbling loudly inside the room.

As to reinforce the order, everyone heard the sounds of a dozen of weapons being unlined in perfect synchronization, only to be immediately sheathed again.

In the corner of his eyes, Chrom noticed how the various Annas inside the room had their arms on their own weapon, and the Lord suddenly remembered where they were holding the meeting.

Suddenly nervous, Chrom gulped down his nervousness and looked around the room, only to see his sister exhaling slowly, a bead of sweat rolling on her cheek. She glanced at him and made a slow, clear gesture that indicated him to let Falchion go.

Looking around again, he saw that everyone was suddenly very wary of the presence of the group of merchants, but none of them was the first to yield.

"Chrom." His sister urged tensely.

The prince hesitated for a moment, but the pleading look of his sister made him desist.

Sighing loudly, he slowly let Falchion go and with deliberate theatrics, he positioned himself again behind his sister, crossing his arms for added measure.

Khan Basilio grunted almost disappointed and, following his example, he fell on his chair with a loud thud, crossing his arms too, giving a childish pout.

Slowly, everyone followed them and in the end, the room was again not in the danger of exploding in a fight.

The only one who still stood on his feet was King Gangrel, still furious as before but now more in control of himself and his action.

Looking heatedly at the other three rulers, King Gangrel sat back on the chair, looking incredibly sourly at the situation.

His eyes locked on both Emmeryn and Chrom himself, before glaring threatening at the two.

Chrom's hand twitched, but the prince did not react in any other way, knowing that, while the reaction was exaggerated, it was still understandable. But Chrom did not know why he was so focused on them. While it was him that started the conjecture, it was Sir Inigo that put the blame on Plegia.

Speaking of, the man who started the scuffle was looking at the scene impassively, the smile that he introduced himself with gone. It was not the same ladies man from before the meeting. There was a warrior there.

And Chrom had to remind himself that he was the guard of the Khans. Of course, he could not be a simple buffoon.

"Now that we have ended these childish accusations…" Lady Anna started to talk again while glancing disappointed at the Khans side, who took the accusation gracefully.

"We can return to the talk about what we can do about this situation. Whatever caused the incident, it has to be here in Archanea. I suggest experts on all three sides will join forces and try to track them down while the various kingdoms will scout preliminary their own region first."

Nobody spoke at first, everyone still tense for the early exchange, the group eying each other suspiciously to see who would do the first move.

Once again, it was Emmeryn that showed her goodwill first, stepping up and saying, "Ylisse will immediately make available the brightest mind of the Kingdom." She announced loudly.

Lady Anna nodded and actually smiled relieved at his sister's intervention, much to the blond's visible satisfaction.

It took a bit for someone to speak after that, but in the end, Khan Flavia hummed to herself while looking back between Chrom himself and King Gangrel, before announcing "Regna Ferox will share the most aptitude people we possess." she proclaimed with just as finality as the Sage.

Khan Basilio visibly grimaced but did not try to go against the female Khan idea.

Then, everyone slowly turned towards Gangrel, waiting for his answer.

King Gangrel glared boldly at the group, stretching his silence for more than another minute, making himself wait.

Then he grinned, and Chrom knew that whatever he was going to say, it would not be what everyone wanted.

"Of course, Plegia will graciously allow the exchange of information with both Regna Ferox and Ylisse. But unfortunately, we are not trusted enough to form any other kind of cooperation, as I am sure you understand." King Gangrel said toothily, and the room seemed to deflate at his decision.

Lady Anna sighed and sadly shook her head.

"Are you sure Gangrel?" She asked him. It was more of a formality, because when the redhead nodded, the merchant simply accepted his decision, giving only a disapproving frown that she did not even direct at the King.

Nobody spoke after the refusal. Chrom could feel Emmeryn disappointed at the result of the conversation, even if she did not show it.

Surprisingly enough, or maybe not, Chrom and most of the other participants of the meeting felt the same.

That was when the silence was broken.

It was his sister and the Archbishop that reacted first, suddenly springing up so harshly that everyone's hand went for their own weapon, ready for one of the two to attack.

The Exalt turned her back on them, much to Chrom's surprise, and the prince felt his sister preparing a spell.

That was when the door exploded violently, the loud sound making everyone in the room flinch in surprise.

Chrom could only see a small group of four people on black robes before dust and fog covered the entire room.

"Attack!" Someone screamed. Chrom could not really understand who it was. He was too busy taking his sister and forcing her to the ground before the spells of the terrorists started to fly.

Emmeryn yelped in a very unladylike manner, and in any other situation he would have found the sound highly amusing. Unfortunately, it really wasn't the time, because just when the two hit the ground, Chrom heard something flying over their head.

A spell without a doubt, aimed for his sister.

"Emm, stay down and let me take care of this! Maribelle?" Chrom said to his sister over the sudden sound of weapon and furniture falling and breaking.

"I'm fine Chrom." He heard the healer whisper right at his side. The Lord suppressed the relief at the sound of her voice, and instead tried to locate the attackers behind the fog.

No such luck, it was thick enough that whatever he could see between it, they were nothing more than shadows.

"I'll deal with it." He heard Emmeryn say confidently.

Before the swordsman could muster a protest, the Exalt stabilized herself on her two feet and, with a quick chant, she created winds around her hand.

Nothing immediately happened, the winds simply spinning around her palm.

Then Emmeryn raised her hand and the intensity soared. The wind became a small, controlled typhoon, sucking around it all the smog that covered the room.

A moment later, Chrom could see what was happening around him.

A group of unknown people was inside the room, wearing what were clearly Grimleal coats that covered most of their faces.

In front of him, there was a group of five people that was looking directly at them, three of them had their hands already raised and ready to cast a spell to shoot against them.

Chrom positioned himself in front of his sister, the Falchion already drawn and ready to shield the older woman from the curses of the Dark Mages.

He really didn't need to.

With a grunt of effort, Emmeryn let the small typhoon go towards the group. Of the five, the two non-mages had the mind to evade the attack, but the three mages reacted too late, so much caught up in their spells.

The mass of smog, wind, and specks of dirt reached the three enemies and suddenly exploded, making the three curses in their hand fly randomly in the room without hitting a person, and the three were flung away hitting the ground with various screams of pain.

Not that Chrom could hear them, obviously. The room was in complete chaos, and the five were not the only assassins who busted inside the conference room.

Frederick and Phila were already engaging a small task of three mages in close combat, who were unfortunately extremely skillful in evading their attacks like the cowards they were.

The Lord searched for the other rulers. he expected them to be relatively unharmed, but he was still surprised to see how they were fearing.

Apparently the Khans had the same idea of his sister in dealing with the cover fog that hindered their sight. Only that, without mages, the Feroxies had to settle with one of the three, which was Khan Basilio, creating a vortex with his own brute strength by spinning one of the biggest axe the blue-haired prince saw in his life while the East-Khan and Sir Inigo were engaged against a couple of attackers each.

Chrom almost missed the annoyed expression of the bald Khan.

Searching again, the prince found himself still surprised at the sight that greeted him.

King Gangrel was fighting. And he was furious.

Shielding Lady Anna with his bigger body, the Plegian King roared and, from the tip of his distorted sword, he summoned a bolt of powerful lightning that blasted one of the closest assassins that dared to approach the two.

Lady Anna did not seem particularly scared of the series of events, from the little he could see. From behind the King, the matriarch chanted a surprisingly controlled Arcfire that distracted one of the other assailants enough for the Mad King to kill him with a fast and brutal swipe of the strange sword.

The body fell on the ground, its head following the lead a mere moment later a couple of meters away.

Chrom looked back at his surroundings, and the prince was welcomed by the sight of a duo of enemies, a sword wielder and lance wielder, running ferociously towards them, aiming directly at him.

Throwing himself against the two, Chrom succeeded in blocking the path of the swordsman.

The lancer ignored him, and Chrom realized that no, they weren't aiming at him, but at the Exalt.

Cursing loudly, Chrom used his superior strength to push the swordsman away, making him stumble back with a grunt of surprise.

He violently reached for the lancer wielding foe and, thanks to the really long coat, he successfully grabbed the foe and yanked him back in front of him.

He had no time to rest, because just after that, the swordsman was already on him, trying to pierce his naked shoulder.

Chrom barely had the possibility to evade it, and the close action allowed them to draw first blood, cutting him.

It wasn't anything deep, but the sudden jolt of pain and the cold that sank into his muscles could only be unpleasant.

A wind spell flew past him, hitting the lance wielder at his side right in the chest, making him scream in pain. Capitalizing with the opening, the Lord swung for the sword wielder with a powerful slash, which the enemy predictably defended against.

The enemy's longsword cracked, and Chrom grinned at the incredulity that crept in the assassin in front of him.

He went for another attack, but the foe screamed in pain and fell on the ground, dead.

Blinking, Chrom saw Vaike smiling smugly at him, his ax dripping with the blood of the Grimleal he just slew.

"Hey, there Captain! Teach to the rescue!" The blonde Shepherd saluted with a boastful laugh that made the prince smile back. Focusing again on his surroundings, Chrom was surprised to see that the battle already was on the finishing stages, most of the enemies being both subdued or killed.

It was easy to see why. The killers, despite the surprise factor, were evenly matched in numbers by the guards and the Annas. Once the sound of the battle reached the Shepherds and the soldiers stationed outside, it was only a matter of time that the enemies would be dealt with.

"Aversa!" A furious voice screamed, and Chrom had to stop himself from shivering at the pure hate that dripped from the words.

He, Emmeryn, Vaike, and Maribelle turned towards the red-head king, who was looking at the unscathed Archibishop on the corner of the room.

The woman walked easily towards the king, seemingly unfazed by the anger directed on her.

"My king…" she started to say with the same collected tone of voice she had during the meeting, only for her being interrupted by lighting crashing right at her side.

"Cut it! Explain this!" Gangrel demanded, taking ample and heavy steps towards the religious woman, who's facade cracked in fear at what it was approaching her.

"I assure you, my king, me and the Grimleals had nothing to do with this." She immediately pleaded, making the King stop in his track.

Maybe it was the fact that Chrom was still full of adrenaline of the short fight, maybe because those people struck him as the Grimleals he always imagined, but Chrom did not really believe her.

Neither did the Khans, judging by one simply rolled his eyes in annoyance while the regent ruler just shook her head in exasperation.

"Do you think me of a fool Aversa? Do you believe I can't recognize the High Priest that lead the attack?" the King shot down mercilessly, seemingly even angrier with every word the woman spoke.

"You may believe that the Church of Grima is independent from Plegia, but know that this is treason, Aversa. I can and will kill you on the spot for this!" Gangrel threatened loudly.

Archbishop Aversa stood in silence, and Chrom wasn't sure what she was thinking. She did not seem terrorized as one would expect her to be in this situation, but she seemed taken aback from the justified rage and extremely worried.

She looked around, maybe in search of help, but none of the people would and even could offer assistance. This was, after all, a matter of internal strife, and while they could push and impose their will after being victim of such an attack, none of them would even think of doing that.

"I am sure Archbishop Aversa as a reasonable explanation for this, King Gangrel. Why do not hear her?"

Gods Emmeryn, really?

Of course, his sister was not most people and decided to intervene in favor of the Archbishop, much to the exasperation and anger of the Shepherds present in the room.

"Milady, I sugg-" Frederick tried to say, but he was interrupted by the furious shout of the red-head king.

"Silence, Ylisseans! This has nothing to do about you! I will deal with this and you will stand still and watch." He commanded angrily, his eyes looking crazily between me, Emmeryn and Frederick who intervened.

The Great Knight stood silent after the scolding, and, after a moment of hesitation, he bowed at the Plegian King to apologize.

It was surprising, really, especially for how deep the bow was.

Emmeryn was clearly not satisfied by the answer she received and made to politely protest what she thought was the hasty course of action, but Chrom decided to stop her.

Putting a hand on her shoulder and catching her attention before she could speak up, Chrom silently shook his head, trying to convey how strongly he was against her intervention.

His sister was still clearly displeased by the lack of action that they were suggesting, but it was Maribelle intervention that completely made her hesitate enough for King Gangrel to continue with his… trial.

"I do not believe it is wise for us to interfere, Lady Emmeryn. We do not know how our neighbor would react to such uncouth intrusion." the blonde duchess said.

In front of them, Archbishop Aversa seemed to have accepted her fate, and she now was kneeled on the floor, offering her head to the enraged King.

"If it is what you wish, my King, I offer you my head against a hunt for my followers." She stated, her voice not cracking despite this possibly being the last moment of her life.

Chrom gulped, and despite what just happened to them, her words made him hesitate in his judgment. Maybe she was really innocent? Could all of this be a stage against the Archbishop?

Could he really stand and watch how a woman may be executed without a fair trial and judgment?

Evidently, King Gangrel did not seem to care about such things, because he seemed more than ready to kill the Lead of the Grimleals without the necessary trivialities.

"Gangrel…" Lady Anna called out with a trace of concern in her tone, making the man stop in his track. The Plegian did not turn to see the matriarch, but everyone saw his body tense and hesitate in his action.

Despite that, the redhead king seemed still ready to go on with the execution, his rightful anger still not quelled.

It was a surprise when the pale man lowered his sword. King Gangrel spat on the floor, and violently took the Archbishop and lifted her weight with only one hand, his crazed red pupils locked on the Archbishop's face.

"How lucky of you. You are more useful alive for now." The King said slowly, in a manner that vaguely resembles a calm and rational man.

He then flung the Archbishop on the ground, making her hiss in pain at the sudden and violent blow.

"No Aversa. I won't spare your followers. And you will help me locate every single one of these fools that went against my express orders. Am I clear?" he spelled out threateningly to the woman, who could only accept the conditions forced on her.

"... yes my king."

Chrom exhaled in relief at the affirmative answer, for a brief moment fearing that the Archbishop would protest and thus provoke the already infuriated king in something that none of them could stop.

Looking at Emmeryn, he saw her feeling the same, her shoulders now more relaxed.

Lady Anna nodded at the scene and turned towards the rest of her family, who were mumbling between themselves with a various degree of annoyance at what just transpired.

Seeing how none of them was excessively injured by the short assault, the matriarch seemed a lot more relieved and quickly ordered them "Girls, stop wasting your time and start checking the mansion."

A couple of the younger redheads grumbled and whined in annoyance at the sudden task, but they did go out of the room to do what they were told to do.

It was slightly amusing to see a group of respected and accomplished merchants behave like children, but alas, he could feel for them.

After all, he too had something to do at the moment. No time for dilly-dallying for him, especially after such an attempt.

Turning towards his Shepherds, the Prince approached Frederick and Phila, who were quietly talking with Stahl and Lon'qu.

Obviously, Frederick was the first to notice his presence, and with a quick gesture, he silenced the two soldiers.

"Milord." He saluted respectfully.

"What is the situation outside?" The prince asked severely, looking worried at his friends. He was glad to notice that all of them were generally unscratched, with the worst he could see was Frederick having a scratch on his face and some slight dents on his armour.

"Preliminary investigations suggest that some of the assassins were part of the Plegian embassy that followed Archbishop Aversa." His oldest knight explained dutifully.

"As stated by King Gangrel, the assassination was lead by High Priest Mirzac, one of the unfortunate casualties, who presumably procured an opening for outsiders to sneak past all the guards of the three Kingdoms." He continued, prompting a nod of understanding from the Prince.

"Unfortunately, in the initial phases of the attack, the Grimleals killed some of the ambassadors of every Kingdom. On Ylisse side, we mourn the loss of a Priest of Naga and two of our youngest soldiers.'' he concluded. Frederick's tone remained the same even when he listed the loss of his own soldier, but Chrom could see the veiled anger behind the facade of professionalism.

The prince wasn't as collected as him. Cursing loudly, Chrom sadly closed his eyes for a quick but heartfelt prayer for the unforeseen deaths, hoping that the Goddess would take proper care for the souls of those unfortunate Ylissean.

He inwardly damned the Grimleals and their stupid fanaticism and felt a spike of anger against King Gangrel for not being able to control them and resulting in events like those.

But the Prince squashed it, knowing that he was being unjust in the confrontation of the Plegian King. Even if Gangrel wasn't able to be just with them, it didn't mean that he could follow his lead and be like _him_.

He was better than that. He will be better than _him_.

"Your Highness?" He heard Frederick call and, realizing that he had lost time in reflection, Chrom coughed in his hand and replied, "I see. I will talk with Emm now. Go and start checking on everyone outside please." He ordered the brown-haired knight, who bowed in acknowledgment and immediately went on to carry on.

With a simple glance, Frederick commanded the two Shepherds to follow and help him in his task, and both Stahl and Lon'qu compiled without much of a sound.

With a defeated sigh at the events that just transpired, Chrom turned around and looked for his elder sister. Searching for her, his eyes stopped on Maribelle, who was dutifully going around the room and checking for various injuries on both Feroxi or Plegian alike.

He couldn't help the small, prideful smile that grew at the sight, and he contently allowed himself to watch over her work for a minute, before going back to search for his sister.

He saw her right beside the two Khans, talking in a low voice with the two dark-skinned rulers with a slightly saddened and demoralized look.

"Sis." The prince called her hesitantly, making the three turn to see him. Giving a respectful nod to the two Khans, Chrom continued to address his sister, "Frederick just briefed me: We have lost three men in the attack."

Emmeryn exhaled slowly, closing her eyes in a mix of sadness and resignation, "I see." She only commented.

"You too uh? Well, that is expected." Khan Basilio said, giving the two Ylisseans a brief pat on their back to show his condolence.

"Seeing what happened here, I suggest we will keep the summit in hold and take a couple of days to organize ourselves and see if we can dig up whoever planned this." Khan Flavia suggested somberly, looking at the three in wait for a confirmation.

"Good idea." the West Khan approved immediately, and Chrom nodded in acceptance.

His sister took a moment to think about the idea, before giving her approval "Yes, I believe that it is a wise course of action. But we should ask King Gangrel his opinion on this."

The two Khans hesitated just for a brief moment, but then they accepted the decision of the Exalt.

The three rulers decided to depart, and Emmeryn politely dismissed him from the discussion and went to talk with the Plegian King.

Chrom thought of following them and hearing what the red-head King was saying, but he decided to let his sister and the two Khans deal with him.

Chrom decided to go and check personally on the Shepherd.

* * *

That night, King Gangrel was looking at the paper in his hand with ill-concealed anger at the paper in his hand, reading the report of the losses of the day for the umpteenth time.

There was a difference from before though, the redhead king had the responsibility of such unjustifiable losses right in front of him, the Archbishop of the Grimleal, Aversa, watching the pale king with a seemingly calm and collected expression.

Gangrel knew better. Aversa was a long time acquaintance of the King. He knew the woman since before she was made the Archbishop, after her father's passing. She was installed as his councilor for the Grimleal faction to try to have some sort of control or influence on him.

She even tried to seduce him at the time.

Looking up from the report, the King observed the tense form of the woman waiting for his next words. She was scared of what he would do now, in the privacy of the tent without the influence of Christian's _spawn_ to help her.

"You better have a good explanation for what you pulled here, Aversa." Gangrel started to say slowly in a low voice.

The king was satisfied with how little of what he really felt about the… incident was palpable from his tone.

"I thought we had a deal, Aversa. A deal that I made with you and your band of fanatic imbeciles that believe that they still have the control of _my_ kingdom." He continued, posing the papers on the table at his side while slowly walking towards her.

The dark-skinned woman inhaled imperceptibly, the tension and fear for the anger of the king taking a toll on her.

Nevertheless, she mustered all the self-control she had and smiled sultrily at him, replying, "And we did respect our part of the contract, King Gangrel. We did not interfere with your quest of vengeance, and even gave you a chan-"

Aversa did not have the possibility of finishing the phrase, because the answer was not what the King of Plegia wanted to hear. All the illusion of calm that he conjured for her shattered like broken glass and the man placed himself in front of the face of the woman.

"Stop this game!" He demanded angrily. Gangrel was not screaming, but the venom and loathing behind the words were more than enough to convey how on a thin line the archbishop was with him.

"Did you think I did not see you? When the task force covered the room, I saw you conjuring that curse to kill the Exalt from behind!" He said, his hand twitching violently at the image.

Aversa's smile died and she took a step back from the redhead.

He did not allow that. He blocked the woman with a hand heavily put on her shoulder, making her wince in pain at the strength and pressure he put her on.

"The Exalt's death would have put Ylisse in panic, especially after the theft of the Fire Emblem. The Prince would have asked for blood and would have declared war on Plegia. Just like you wanted." She explained quietly, despite the hammering of her heart and all her body screaming at her to get away from him.

"The princeling…," Gangrel said, spatting the name like it was a curse. "... is the only thing that saves you now, Aversa." He said, gripping her shoulder tighter.

The white-haired woman did not make a sound, despite the pain from the grip, simply waiting for the king to vent his anger and hoping that nothing more would come out of it.

"It seems you have forgotten what our deal was, Aversa. So let me refresh it for you." The pale king slowly said, his tone deceptively calm.

"I would allow you fools to do whatever you want in your stupid quest to resurrect the Fell Dragon, no matter what kind of consequences it would have with the other two kingdoms. In exchange…," Gangrel articulated slowly, relaxing the grip on her shoulder.

"The Grimleals would put aside any grudge against the Exalt line." He concluded sweetly, giving the woman a false smile.

The Archbishop, of course, already knew that. She was the one that negotiated with the king and the other high priests, after all, the one that convinced the King to cooperate with the Grimleals in their pursuit after the death of her father.

"What you did was breaking that agreement, Aversa. I am hurt, you know? I thought that you would be better than this. I believed you to be smarter than to try and deceive me." He continued, putting up the same obnoxious fake expression that was used with the Ylisseans.

"And how amusing is that the Exalt was the only one that voiced for you. It amuses me, knowing that Christian's spawn tries so hard to be as different as their father when they are all of the same kind." He continued with a low chuckle, taking a step back from the woman and starting to walk around the tent.

"Like father like son, after all. Always jumping and attacking my country. They may be putting a pacifist facade, but they are just like him. Worthless beasts out for blood to offer to their Goddess!" He said, his voice becoming more and more agitated the more the redhead talked about them.

Aversa simply nodded and patiently waited for him to finish his monologue, knowing better than to try to talk to him now that he was this flighty and agitated.

He always was when he was thinking about the Exalt line. Obsessed, angered.

His grudge against the rulers of Ylisse was well known in the higher circle, but few ever witnessed how strong he felt about them. How much he hated them.

"And you, my dear Aversa, have tried to kill the oldest and most hypocritical of them behind my back. That won't do." Gangrel suddenly snapped back at the dark mage, glaring heatedly at the religious woman.

The archbishop opened her mouth to try and apologize, but unfortunately, that wasn't going to cut for the king.

Instead, she felt a sudden surge of pain on her left shoulder, and her calm mask immediately broke when he saw Gangrel's Levin Sword impaled in it.

Fumbling away from him, the woman let out a low sound of pain at the sudden attack, but the maddened king did not let her have any kind of breath. The sword seemed to crackle with static and then the electric shock of a lowly powered thunder spell crashed on her body.

Aversa couldn't even scream from the pain she felt, the sudden follow-up attack taking her breath and strength away.

She barely felt when the trickster slowly removed the sword from her shoulder and left her body fell on her knees.

"Seeing how little you value our agreement, this is the only warning you will receive. Don't do this again because next time I _will_ kill you. Christian's spawn is mine. Are we clear, Aversa?" she heard the king stress coldly, ignoring the pain of the woman.

When she didn't answer, still too caught up in catching her breath, the king put the sword at her throat.

Feeling the hot steel of the blade threatening her life, the archbishop tensed and looked slowly up at the king.

"Are. We. Clear?" Gangrel repeated again, this time articulating every word so slowly that even in her unfocused state she could understand them.

Aversa could only answer with a weak affirmation, prompting the redhead to sheathe his sword and smile in perverse satisfaction.

"Good. Now get out of there. I have to deal with the mess that this embarrassing raid did for us."

* * *

Chrom let out a sigh of mild satisfaction, enjoying the lunch he was having with both his sisters in the tent of the Exalt.

It was a rare occurrence when the three of them were truly alone in the same space. Being royalty, they always had someone with them everywhere since birth.

Even now, despite him being an accomplished warrior and his older sister an experienced and fairly powerful Sage, they always had at least Frederick or Phila at their side. Even Lissa, despite the minor role she had in the political land, she always was with one of the Shepherds or a Pegasus Knight.

At the moment, instead, both Phila and Frederick were waiting outside the tent standing on guard while the three siblings were enjoying their time together.

Chrom felt actually a bit bad for making them do this, but he squashed the sentiment when he saw both of his sisters peacefully enjoying their food.

"... and I'm booored!" Lissa finished whining to her elder sister, who simply smiled slightly at the younger blond antics.

"I see Lissa. Do not worry, because as we decided, we will depart in the late evening." Emmeryn assured, making Lissa smile widely in happiness.

"Nice. I can't wait to be back at the castle. The people here are so creepy you know? Always staring and being closed off from everyone." The young Cleric commented annoyed, making her two siblings chuckle in amusement and the peculiar description of the other guards.

"That is not true." Chrom rebuked in fake offense. "The Khans are really funny and nice people, Lissa." He reminded her, crossing his arms with a smirk.

The blonde girl gasped dramatically, and covered her mouth with both her hands, "Oh Chrom, how could I have said that. I will miss their really, really loud laughs and painful pats!" She exclaimed with perceived sarcasm.

Emmeryn laughed quietly at her younger sister's reaction but did not comment on the disrespect shown by the cleric. "Well, Sir Inigo is really nice and charming, don't you think so Lissa?" She teased, making the other girl smile more mischievously and nodding enthusiastically.

Chrom's smile strained at the thought of that particular individual, laughing half-heartedly at the two's joking.

In those days, he had the occasion to talk with the man, being the only noticeable person of the Regna Ferox' entourage.

Put it simply, he was a womanizer. He saw him flirt with a lot of women in the span of three hours, including a couple of Plegians, five different priestesses, and even his own damn sisters.

Both of them.

Strangely enough, he seemed to hold him in high esteems, for some reason, if the clear respect and slight deference he showed the prince the few times they crossed roads were of some indication.

It was one of the two things that convinced Chrom that maybe the guy wasn't so bad. The other reason was that he was one of Marth's comrades.

It was a pleasant surprise, seeing him with the Feroxi delegation after the meeting, running around helping the Shepherds with the aftermath of the assassination attempt.

He did seem agitated by the event, most likely caught off guard for it, but he couldn't really blame the masked swordsman for that, everyone was.

The prince found just strange seeing him showing it that much. Chrom had the impression of him being way more detached and collected most of the time.

"Come on Chrom, we are joking." Lissa commented while barely holding back a laugh, and the blue-haired swordsman just blinked and smiled awkwardly at her, realizing that he must have shown his thoughts.

Looking at Emmeryn, Chrom noticed her chuckle mirthfully, and he let out a sigh of resignation. Truly, if her pious elder sister enjoyed teasing him like that, he must be extremely gullible and fun to play with.

It was irritating, but for them, he would bear the curse for them.

"I know sister. After all, I am sure Lon'qu would be jealous if he heard you talk so well of another prominent Feroxi warrior."He replied with a bright, innocent smile.

He would bear the curse, but that would not mean he could not do some payback at them.

Lissa blushed at the insinuation of her clear crush on their last addition on the Shepherds, and tried to reply back with some cunning insult.

"Wha-, t-that is… Shut up!"

Chrom's smile did not waver at the comeback, and he observed how Emmeryn slowly turned her head to the younger sibling and commented "My, my, what a refined answer, Princess Lissa. I am sure your tutor and Maribelle would be very proud of you." she said in faux disappointment.

"Ugh!" Lissa grunted out in a very unladylike manner at the Exalt's joke, and panickingly tried to come up with a rebuke. She seemed to come up with something because after a couple of seconds of stuttering, she replied viciously "W-well, what about your crush on Frederick, Emm? How does that go?"

The Exalt, unfortunately for the princess, did not seem to be embarrassed by the frankly new revelation, which piqued the only brother's interest. Humming calmly, she shook her head with the same peaceful smile she used in her meetings "I don't know where that came from, my dear sister. I believe you just came up with this." She replied.

Lissa pouted and crossed her arms at the negation, and she didn't even try to press the matter further, knowing full well that Emmeryn could talk around the both of them even if she was ill and bedridden. Curse her diplomatic abilities.

Nevertheless, Chrom filed that little bit of information for later use. His sister and Frederick huh… he should keep an eye on them from now on. Just in case.

"Lady Emmeryn, Lord Chrom, Lady Lissa." They suddenly heard from outside the tent, the slightly nervous and on edge voice of the captain of the pegasus knights calling their attention.

The three looked between themselves in confusion at the interruption. Chrom knew that Phila wouldn't interrupt their alone time if there wasn't a good reason.

Nevertheless from the tone of voice, Phila did not seem agitated or impatient, making the prince think that whatever needed their, or his sister's attention, wasn't immediate.

Calmly standing, Emmeryn was the first to walk outside the tent with the two younger siblings following her, curious of what would push the trusted guard to interrupt them.

The three Ylisseans were welcomed by the sight of a third person outside the tent, who stood dutifully right beside the Great Knight and the Pegasus Knight, one of the few soldiers that came with them from the capital if Chrom remembered.

The knight saluted the three of them dutifully, "Lady Emmeryn I am sorry to inconvenience you, but we have an abnormal situation on our hands." He explained curtly, looking slightly apologetically at them.

Composing herself, not that she even needed to do that in Chrom's opinion, Emmeryn nodded solemnly at the man and smiled encouragingly at him, "I understand. Explain, please." She ordered gently.

The knight nodded and quickly summarized, "An hour ago, we met a man that asked to talk with us, claiming to have the necessary information from the capital. After allowing him in the presence of Lady Sully and Lord Virion, the man named Gaius reported a theft in the castle led by the Grimleals." He explained.

Chrom's eyebrow raised at the news. That was not what he expected to hear.

Mirroring the Prince's expression, the Exalt did not seem particularly worried by the notion. "I see. I assume we can't really confirm his claim, right." She asked.

To their surprise, the man shook his head, suddenly showing an unsure and hesitant expression, "We are not sure. He did show us some sort of proof, Lady Emmeryn. He had some silverware but we can't identify if they are from the castle or not."

Chrom saw Emmeryn blink in surprise at the peculiarity, and the Prince had to wonder how the guy had some of the supposedly stolen silverware. But it was the youngest of the three that actually pointed out the strangeness.

"Wait, how did he have those? Did he take them from the thieves or something?" She questioned skeptically, looking up to the older siblings to have an answer.

Chrom didn't answer her question, simply mirroring Lissa and looking towards the oldest of them, waiting for her input.

Strangely enough, even his sister was hesitant to judge the bizarre events. Chrom had no doubt that she was thinking the same thing he did.

It was impossible for a man to simply take some silverware from thieves and run away. Or if not impossible, extremely improbable. The Prince had the impression that this was a case of a thief turning his back on former comrades.

Seeing how the Exalt was still thinking about the situation at hand, Chrom decided to intervene in her stead, "Should we hear him out?" He proposed, a bit hesitant, looking at his older sister for confirmation.

Emmeryn looked back at him, and, after a moment of consideration, she confirmed, "Yes Chrom, that would be wise. Please, escort us to this individual."

Nodding resolutely, the knight bowed and gestured for the siblings to follow him, before setting off with the three royals in tow. Chrom heard metal boots right behind him, and he just assumed that Frederick or Phila decided to follow them to see what was happening.

The group decided to not talk between them and pondered on the situation at hand, but it didn't take long for them to reach their destination.

Chrom saw both Sully and Virion talking with a new man, maybe a bit older than him. The first thing that he noticed was the fact that certainly, he did not look like a bystander or a normal subject.

The way he was casually relaxed with the eyes of a lot of armed people was a big show that he was used to the presence of certain kinds of people. The fact that he was dressed like some kind of thief and had a sword himself was actually the thing that convinced the Prince that this man was probably a traitor in the group.

Chrom supposed that it was a good thing for them, but that didn't stop him from thinking of the man of someone to not trust.

"Greetings, sir. I believe you are the man who wanted to tell us about a theft in my castle?" Emmeryn politely greeted him with a hearty smile, "I am Emmeryn, the Exalt of Ylisse. May I ask you your name?" She asked him.

The man blinked and thought for a moment while chewing on something in his mouth. After a bit, he took out a... lollipop from his mouth and answered with a careless shrug, "Gaius, Your Majesty."

Lissa's eyes widened, focusing her attention on the lollipop -seriously though, really?- and her eyebrows raised dangerously.

She did not say anything, but Chrom noticed how she started glaring intensely at the redhead. More specifically, she seemed particularly focused on the lollipop in his hand.

Deciding to ignore her and simply focus on the events in front of him, Chrom heard his sister reply to the man, "Thank you, Gaius. They said that you believe that some people stole from our castle, right?"

Gaius nodded at the question, putting his sweet back in his mouth, seemingly savoring the treat despite the interrogation from the woman. "You are right, I was there. Stole some stuff myself. A bit of the silverware I gave back to you guys and some treats for myself." He admitted seamlessly.

Chrom blinked at the blunt reply and felt a spike of admiration for the courage that the man displayed in front of the Queen of the kingdom. The owner of the castle that he said he robbed.

He saw and heard some of the knights around them hesitantly going for their weapons, with Sully and Frederick being the more determined in the movement, but Chrom stopped them with a gesture of his hand before his sister could.

He felt more than saw the incredulous gaze of both the redhead cavalier and the archer, even if they received the confirmation of the order from Emmeryn, who simply nodded at the Prince in appreciation for the initiative.

"I see. I applaud your willingness to come here and confess your crimes, Gaius. I will make sure to remember it when the trial comes." Emmeryn assured with a smile, making the self-proclaimed thief raise an eyebrow in mock surprise.

"Hey now, Your Majesty, I never spoke of capture and turning over a new leaf. I am here just because my Grimleals pals broke the code and tried to get rid of me and the others. Also, I am pretty sure we were a distraction to something more important. Don't know what. I only saw some old relics in their hands." He said with a shrug, while his eyes roamed around him.

Chrom and Emmeryn ignored the casual dismissal about the capture and decided to focus on the new information given.

"And can you tell us what they took?" Emmeryn asked again, and Chrom could feel a strange edge in her voice. He could not really know why that was. Everything they could have stolen could not be something that important.

"Some stuff. Jewelry, antique things like pots and portraits and an old-looking shield." Gaius answered seemingly nonchalantly, but he seemed to give them his full attention when he told them about it, waiting for a reaction.

Emmeryn tensed, her eyes widening in shock, Chrom having a really similar reaction to the older sister.

"Could you please describe the shield they took?" Emmeryn asked quickly, her tone not hiding the concern that she was feeling.

"That important uh…" Gaius commented with a low sigh, shaking his head in annoyance, "Should have known it was a political thing… well, sorry but I didn't take a good look. All I can say is that it was ornate, really old because of some chippings and had some placing on the front." He answered.

Chrom cursed loudly, and immediately marched away from them.

The description was scarce but clear enough. The Grimleals stole the Fire Emblem, the Holy Shield that, paired with Falchion, slew Grima one thousand years ago. Not only that, but the shield was also in the hands of legendary figures from before the very foundation of Ylisse.

It was the shield that the Hero-King Marth utilized in both the fabled War of Shadows and the War of Heroes. It was the shield that it is said to call upon the power of Naga and could create miracles.

And it was with Ylisse from the start of the Kingdom, never leaving the Exalt line. Even his father used it against Plegia years ago.

And they stole it.

Enough was enough. Gangrel had to stop whatever problem he had in controlling those damn animals!

His anger was probably extremely visible, because a lot of the knights and people that he met in his march towards the Plegian's assembly stayed clear from him, actually making space for him to walk.

It didn't take long for him to find the incapable king. He was outside his tent, talking with the archbishop in a strangely hushed tone.

Chrom didn't care. Even if it was the Khans, he would have his voice heard.

"Gangrel!" He called out, barely containing his fury from his voice. Even then, he was sure that the hostility could still be felt, despite his frankly nonexisting efforts.

The Plegian king turned towards him and, acknowledging his presence, he smiled condescendingly at him and opened his arms in a sarcastic welcoming gesture.

"Ah, Prince Chrom. How rare for us to see you without the company of the Exalt. What do we owe the honor?" Gangrel asked with as much actual respect as he gave to the Exalt with a condescending smile.

"Stop your games, Gangrel. I am here to tell you this. Keep your damn fanatics at bay!" He spatted back with venom, much to the king's surprise.

Raising an eyebrow with a sardonic smirk, the Plegian tilted his head, looking at the Ylissean prince with satisfaction "So you finally show your true colors. Barging in Plegian territory and demanding absurdities. Like father like son is not only a way of saying." He commented.

That bastard! How dare he compare him with that failure of a father! "You… don't you dare! I am nothing like him! We put up with you and your attitude, but enough is enough! Just give back the Fire Emblem and we will leave you alone!" He ordered in anger.

"Unfortunately, I have no idea of what you are talking about." Was instead the satisfied reply of the redhead king.

Seeing the smug, satisfied look in the face of that damnable man, the same man who always mocked and belittled his sister and all of his family made him clench his fists.

He just wanted to punch the satisfaction out of that despicable king.

Fortunately for him, before Chrom could actually pull it off, he was stopped by the panicked but severe voice of his older sister, "Chrom!" She called out.

Spitting on the ground, the Prince turned towards the source of the voice and saw Emmeryn strolling towards the two of them with a worried expression.

"Oh, and here it is the older sister! Here to calm down the Princeling?" the Trickster asked jovially, much to Chrom's irritation.

"Yes." Was the composed answer of the Exalt. Chrom's eyes twitched, feeling offended by the fact that his sister was actually agreeing with him in this situation, but before he could protest, Emmeryn continued to explain to the King, "You have to excuse him, King Gangrel. We just received distraught news. It has been reported to us that the Fire Emblem has been stolen from the castle, and reports from a deserter indicate that a Grimeals task force is behind the crime."

King Gangrel gasped in exaggerated surprise "My, the Fire Emblem stolen right under the noise of the Ylissean family…," he mocked, before glaring at the two, "And you believe that we are behind it, right?"

"Of course not." Emmeryn quickly denied, shaking her head in negation, "We suspect that whoever is behind it, is the same force that attacked us days ago." she affirmed.

Gangrel sneered at the explanation, looking at the two in plain disgust, "Your dear brother's outburst from before seemed to show me a very different story, dear Holy Exalt. But no more!" He shouted.

"Seeing how you seem to believe the voice of a petty deserter over mine, I will end this farce for the both of us!" He declared, before giving them a bloodthirsty smile.

Chrom's heart stopped at the sight, fearing the implication of that statement, and he could feel his sister pale at the declaration.

"I, King Gangrel, declare the end of the peace between Plegia and the hypocritical Ylisse. No more false smiles. No more masks. From now on, I declare that I will usurp the Exalt line and take over Ylisse!" Gangrel announced loudly, making the various bystander recoil back in various states of surprise.

"Wait, I am sure-"

"None of that falsified pacification, Exalt! Our next encounter will be on the battlefield!"

Chrom took a step back, his anger vanishing, only replaced by the horror of what he assisted.

Giving the two his back, Gangrel walked away under the stunned silence of the people, vanishing in the tent, the Archbishop right after his steps.

He just… despite all the commitment, the diligence, the years…

Chrom fell on his knees.

War.

**Author Notes:**

**Fuck this chapter. Seriously. I believed writing this would have been fun, being important to the story and having some cool moments, but now that it cames, it was doubt after doubt and talking and talking... ugh.**

**In the end, I am satisfied at least. **

**The things that made me hesitate the most were both Gangrel and Chrom's reaction. Gangrel is clearly different from the canon, I tried to give him more depth against his game counterpart, and I tried to not make him too wildly inconsistent in his behavior. We'll see how the reception goes.**

**Chrom's reaction is another thing that made me hesitate. Him losing his composure is not impossible, but I always thought, 'he is not a complete meathead, he would probably restain himself right?', and so I didn't write the last part.**

**In the end, I tried to make it sound how it wasn't only the FE the problem, but Gangrel's attitude towards him and his sister up until now that made him explode.**

**Hope you like it, I put way more time than I intended in this. **

**Next time, at least, is Hachiman again. That will be fun.**

**If you see some typos, please don't hesitate to point it out, being both on review or on private messaging.**

**Stay home, stay safe, don't be stupid people.**

**Taine. **


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